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Meryl at 65…

The love th a As the most successful film actress of our time celebrates her 65th birthday, we look at her personal heartache that was redeemed by love

By Valery McConnell rom Sophie’s Choice to The Iron Lady, Meryl Streep has enthralled us for almost 40 years in many roles. For nearly all that time Meryl, who is 65 on June 22, has been happily married to just one man – a rarity for the film world.

Her husband, Don Gummer, is a successful sculptor who isn’t part of the showbiz world, but he is ‘the linchpin’ of her life and she says: “Our marriage and our children and their wellbeing inform all the decisions we make.”

Yet the only reason they met was because he lent her his apartment in 1978 when her life had fallen apart…

In 1976, just as Meryl was beginning to be successful, she met John Cazale when they both appeared in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. He had played Fredo Corleone in the

F

first two Godfather films and was already recognised for the intensity of his acting. Meryl and John fell head over heels in love and moved in together. John told her that when he got his first big break they would marry.

To their delight, they were both cast in major roles in the film, The Deer Hunter but, shockingly, by the time it came to be made, John was found to have terminal bone cancer. His condition was so serious that he was uninsurable and it was only the insistence of the director and a threat by Meryl to leave the film that stopped the producers firing him. Instead, filming was rearranged so all John’s scenes were shot first, while he was still well enough.

Throughout, Meryl was by his side. “I’ve hardly ever seen a person so devoted to someone who is falling away like John was,” said co-star Robert de Niro, “To see her in that act of love for this man was overwhelming.”

When the film ended she moved into the

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT MERYL...

✢ Her two eldest daughters, Mamie and Grace followed in her footsteps as actresses.

Her son, Henry, is a musician.

All pictured left.

✢ In 1965, aged 16, she saw The Beatles at New York’s Shea Stadium and had a banner with ‘I love Paul’ on it.

✢ She left her first Oscar, for Best Supporting Actress in Kramer v Kramer in 1979, on top of the toilet!

❙ star chat ❙

Meryl with Don (above) and with her first love John Cazale

hospital with him. He didn’t survive long enough to attend the premiere of the film and died in March 1978, aged 42.

Meryl couldn’t bear to stay in the apartment they had shared. That is when a friend of her brother’s, Don Gummer, offered her his place as a refuge while he was away travelling.

He has since said: “Meryl was shattered by John Cazale’s death and I did what I could to help and pretty quickly I realised I was falling in love with her.”

To the surprise of some, in September of that same year, Don and Meryl married. She admitted: “I haven’t got over John’s death, but I’ve got to go on living and Don has showed me ✢ Hollywood legend Bette Davis said that Meryl was her true acting successor. ✢Sesame Street created ‘Meryl Sheep’ in her honour

how to do that.” Their long and happy marriage, they celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary, this year, proves how right those instincts were.

But perhaps she still carries her first love with her in the commitment she has brought to every role she plays? John Cazale was admired for his ability to inhabit a role. And that is what she does, too.

By her devotion to her acting she honours his memory and that of a remarkable career cut tragically short.

When she played Lindy Chamberlain in A Cry in the Dark (about the dingo baby case) she visited Lindy in prison to understand her character better.

While filming Out of Africa, there was a long take where she had to be calm and dignified as she met a line of servants in the intense heat. She filmed it perfectly, but as soon as it was over tore off her dress to reveal an enormous insect that had been crawling around inside.

Cher, with whom Meryl co-starred in Silkwood, said: ✢ Katharine Hepburn wasn’t a fan, though, and suggested she had a mechanical acting style: “You can see the wheels go click, click, click in her head.” In 1981, Katharine beat Meryl to win the Oscar for Best Actress.

“She is an acting machine in the same sense that a shark is a killing machine. That’s what she was born to be.” But what Cher also discovered, to her surprise, was the less well-known Meryl who is a mum and loves to cook, and look after her house.

“We’d knit, crochet and talk about our kids so much I thought something was wrong with us, that we didn’t have an existence outside of them. Then I realised we were just two proud mothers.”

And that’s the side Meryl shares with Don. They live ‘as far away from Hollywood as possible’ in Connecticut. While they live in some style (their property has a 47-acre lake!) they share a downto-earth attitude to their home and family.

Meryl has said the secret of a happy marriage is ‘goodwill and a willingness to bend – and to shut up every once in a while’.

The actress who endeared herself to us over-50s when she went up to get her 2012 Golden Globe award and exclaimed: “Oh [bleep] I’m going to have to remember my speech, I forgot my glasses!” isn’t afraid to be herself.

And life, sometimes cruelly, has taught her what really matters.

She said after John Cazale’s death: “I learned what really is important. I found what is true and what’s not worth pursuing.” ✢ She has been nominated 18 times for an Oscar which prompted her to say in her 2012 acceptance speech for The Iron Lady, people were saying, ‘Oh no, come on, why her again?’

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PICS: PA; REX FEATURES; GETTY IMAGES; ALPHA; ALAMY; GLOBE PHOTOS

at changed her life

Style notes

Gill wears: Multiway print dress, £59, 8-20, M&S; shoes, £25; 3-8, M&S Collection; fascinator headband, £10, M&Co; bangle, £15, M&S

Summer

Turn heads whatever the occasion with ing looks d d e w t c these gorgeous Pe rfe fashion finds

By Fashion Editor, Michelle Nightingale

MULTIPLE WAYS TO WEAR

Top it off… ✢ Navy hat, £25, Bhs ✢ Fuchsia headband fascinator, £35, Accessorize

✢ Navy headband fascinator, £29, Accessorize ✢ Fascinator hair slide, £8, Bonmarché

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Susan wears: Nude pink jacket, £35, 8-22 and floral print top, £27.50, 8-24, both M&S Collection; trousers, £30, 8-22, Bhs; shoes, £19.50, 3-8 and necklace, £15, both M&S; hat, £22.50, Bhs; box clutch bag, £29.50, M&S Gill wears: Frock coat, £50, 1232, Claire Richards at Fashion World; dress, £45, 8-22, Bhs; shoes, £19.50, 3-8 and fascinator, £25, both M&S; bag, £22.50, Bhs

r party looks Gill wears: Jacket, £35, 8-22, Bhs; top £15, 8-24, M&S; skirt, £35, 8-22, and shoes, £28, 3-8, both Bhs; earrings, £8, M&Co

Party shoes you can walk in! ✢ Blue strappy sandal, £25, 3-8, Bhs

Susan wears: Blue lace dress, £59, 8-22, M&Co; silver shoes, £32, 3-9, Next; fascinator, £20, Bhs; necklace, £18, M&Co; bag, £38, Next

✢ Gold court shoe, £35, 4-9, The Shoe Tailor at Fifty Plus

✢ Satin court shoe, £89, 3-8, Phase Eight

avourite f g in n e t is C hr

✢ Point toe kitten heel, £15, 3-8, Bhs ✢ Satin slingback, £25, 3-8, Bonmarché

Gill wears: Linen and lace dress, £95, 10-20, Laura Ashley; shoes, £25, 3-8, M&S Collection; earrings, £14, Next; bag, £17.50, Laura Ashley

rty choice a p n e d r a G

✢ Gold sandal, £14, 3-8, George at Asda STOCKISTS: Accessorize 0844 880 3173 www.accessorize.com; Bhs 0844 411 6000 www.bhs.co.uk; Bonmarché 0330 026 2728 www.bonmarche. co.uk; Fashion World 0871 231 4000 www.fashionworld.co.uk; Fifty Plus 0871 231 2000 www.fiftyplus.co.uk; George at Asda 0800 952 0101 www.asda.com; Isme 0844 811 8112 www.isme.com; Laura Ashley 0871 983 5999 www.lauraashley.com; M&Co 0800 031 7200 www.mandco. com; M&S 0845 302 1234; www. marksandspencer.com; Next 0844 844 8000 www.next.co.uk; Phase Eight 0207 471 4422 www.phase-eight. co.uk All details correct at time of going to press.

✢ NEXT ISSUE Update your summer look without spending a fortune!

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PHOTOGRAPHY ANGELA SPAIN; STYLIST JO WINCH; HAIR AND MAKE-UP SARAH JANE GREEN

Susan wears: Jewelled neck top, £45, 10-20, Laura Ashley; trousers, £22, 8-24, Savoir at Isme; shoes, £26, 3-9 and bag, £22, both Next

Time of my

life

Tales from NIGHT W Retired nurse Maggie Holmes recalls hair-raising times on the NHS night shift

was a night nurse at a hospital in Plymouth in the Seventies and have so many stories I can tell from that time.

We were always busy, but things – funny, sad or inspiring – just seemed to happen, which I am sure will strike a chord with other retired nurses.

On one occasion I was in charge of a ward that was ‘on surgical intake’. This meant I could have admissions at any time during the night shift. I had a student nurse with me and we had 16 patients to care for when a head injury came in. The poor man was quite concussed. We did half-hourly observations on him and fortunately he soon became conscious again. He told me he had come home after a night at the pub and felt a bit ‘frisky’, but his wife wasn’t having it.

He made a grab for her, but she had something in her hand and knocked him out with it. The next thing he knew, he was in hospital.

I

A head injury came in with concussion... the poor man’s wife had hit him with her best teapot 78

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Hospital corners were an artform!

I was on duty the following Friday and, very unexpectedly, he was still there – despite being quite well. He told me his wife would not let him come home and ‘The Social’ was trying to find a new place for him. Apparently his wife had hit him with her best teapot and had broken it and she was very upset as it was a wedding present from her auntie!

When I came in the next night he was gone, so his wife must have finally relented.

On another night we sadly had a lovely old man die early in the shift and in those days we had to lay patients out properly. It took

a long time, as was respectful, and we always put a flower on the shroud. He was ready to go to ‘Rose Cottage’ as we called the mortuary, but unfortunately we couldn’t find his teeth. The porters came for him then and I said as soon as I found the teeth I would let them know – as we wanted them put in before rigor mortis set in. My care assistant and I hunted high and low for those teeth. Eventually we found them in the sluice, so I phoned the porters to come collect them. A new young porter, who had just started work with us, was sent to collect them and said he had

never seen a dead body before.

He went down to Rose Cottage on a dark and stormy November night. Unfortunately, just as he was trying to put the man’s teeth in, there was a flash of lightning, followed by thunder overhead and the mortuary was lit up. The poor boy was so scared and upset, he ran out and raced past the head porter in floods of tears, never to be seen again.

We had a good relationship with the consultants and if they had to come in they were usually very nice. We had a lovely consultant, Mr C, from New Zealand, who asked us specifically to ring him when the patient he was caring for, who sadly had terminal facial cancer, finally died. The poor man was only young and had been very good-looking according to his photo on his locker. Mr C had promised his wife he would try to restore his looks as much as possible. He died at 3.30am and ten minutes later Mr C was there. He got to work with cotton wool and swabs and when the man’s wife arrived she was overwhelmed, as he looked at peace – almost as if he were

He was ready to go to the mortuary but we couldn’t find his teeth!

Quirky connections

Richard Chamberlain (left) became a household name – and heart-throb – when he took the role of Dr Kildare in the hit TV series of the same name, which ran from 1961-1966. First choice, William Shatner, had turned it down.

... Our hearts beat fast again when he played romantically doomed priest Ralph de Bricassart, in the successful mini-series The Thorn Birds in 1983. It gave his co-star, young English actress and model Rachel Ward (right) her big break...

...and a husband. She fell in love with the only genuine Australian in the cast, Bryan Brown (left), who was playing her husband, stockman Luke O Neill. They remain happily married to this day with three children.

Bryan went on to co-star with Tom Cruise (right) in the 1988 feelgood film, Cocktail. Their famous musical bar routine introduced a whole new generation to The Hippy Hippy Shake...

Yours

wants to know

Have you got an amazing story to tell? We’ll pay up to £100 for every story we print. Send your story (no more than 1,000 words) and pictures to: ‘Your Memories’, Yours magazine, Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough PE2 6EA. Or you can email your stories and pictures to valery.mcconnell@bauermedia.co.uk

...a big hit for Mersey group The Swinging Blue Jeans in 1963. Although none of the original line-up survive, the group is still touring (www.swingingbluejeans.co.uk) YOURS

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PICS: AlAMY; TOPFOTO; ClIVE lIMPkIN/dAIlY MAIl/REx FEATURES; SHUTTERSTOCk

om the WARD

asleep. She hugged us all and thanked us for our care. I never forgot the wonderful thing that consultant did for her.

Another time when I was on the Ear, Nose and Throat ward, I was in charge of the room where we used to put ‘special’ patients.

Nowadays it would be called the intensive care unit. My friend, Elaine, had the rest of the ward.

I was looking after a man who had had a laryngectomy. He had a tracheotomy and had just come back from theatre so I was busy seeing to his needs. We rarely left our patients who needed extra care so tended not to take a break as it was too difficult to tell a relief nurse everything they needed to know. By 3am it was quiet and my patient was asleep so I asked Elaine to bring me a much-needed coffee. There was a roller blind that was kept down on the window of her office so the light didn’t disturb the patients. I wanted to attract her attention while staying quiet, so gently tugged the string of the roller blind.

Unfortunately, it had a wooden knob on the end and the blind was very strong – it shot up and rolled around, causing an enormous clatter as it banged the glass.

Elaine was sipping her coffee at the time and it shot up the wall!

We tried not to laugh too loudly.

My patient was awake by this time and wrote me a note, as he couldn’t speak, saying it was the funniest thing he had seen in a long time.

Elaine and I are still friends and often reminisce about our times together on the night ward.

0 1 BEST... of the

Places to try something Turn your hand to a fun activity or two this summer

NEW

✢ A Splash of Colour CASTLE DROGO, DEVON Sketch the stunning views from Castle Drogo in watercolour and pen, guided by tutor Celia Olsson. The day will start with an instructional session of handy hints and tips, which will arm you with ideas for later… Includes coffee and lunch. ✤July 8, £35 per person,10.30am-3.30pm.

Normal admission fees also apply. Call 01647 433306 or visit www. nationaltrust.org.uk

✢ Make Your Own Rag Rug Heart BIRMINGHAM BACK TO BACKS, WEST MIDLANDS Love a vintage patchwork? What about patchwork in the atmospheric setting of some of the last surviving ‘back to back’ properties in the UK? Learn how past residents crafted to make ends meet while you make your own.

Refreshments, tools and materials provided. Spaces are limited, so early booking is advised. ✤July 26, £27.50 per person,10.30am12.30pm or1.30-3.30pm. Call 0121 622 2442 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk

✢ Willow Weaving Taster Workshop BENINGBROUGH HALL, NORTH YORKSHIRE Interested in weaving? Experts from local business Dragon Willow will show you all sorts of techniques to make a variety of items, including a bird feeding basket and flower tray. Then there’s the gallery and gardens to enjoy at this Georgian mansion too. ✤July19 or 23, £45 per person, 11am-4pm. Call 01904 472027 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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Also at Farncombe ✢ Introduction to this summer: Songwriting, Beekeeping FARNCOMBE Watercolour pencils ESTATE, WORCESTERSHIRE and Beginners’ Fancy trying your hand at Patchwork! beekeeping? This day will teach you all about honeybees and how to work safely with them. You will get to open a hive and handle bees on the day – special suits are provided! Includes a three-course lunch and afternoon tea. ✤July19, £75 per person (£50 deposit upon booking).

9.30am-4.30pm. Call 0333 456 8580 or visit www.farncombecourses.co.uk

Also at West Dean: Stained ✢ Jewellery Making for Glass Taster Day on Jun 24, from Beginners WEST DEAN COLLEGE, WEST SUSSEX £112 pp Tutor Carol Blackburn leads this ‘taster day’ for crafty types. Learn how to make beautiful beads and pendants by blending and shaping polymer clay. If you’re a dab hand with beads and love statement pieces of jewellery, this could well be the class for you! Includes lunch and afternoon tea. ✤June13, from £94 per person.

9.45am -5pm. Call 0844 499 4408 or visit www.westdean.org.uk

Make the most of the natural beauty found in nature!

BARNSDALE GARDENS, RUTLAND Either make a pretty pincushion in this morning session, or start a cushion cover design – the choice is yours. Bring along your basic materials and learn how to make your hexagonal patchwork sing! ✤June 9, July11 and Aug15*. £32 per person,10.30am-1pm.

Call 01572 813200 or email courses@ *Book both barnsdalegardens.co.uk to reserve your Barnsdale place. www.barnsdalegardens.co.uk

✢ Floral Rag-Rugging

courses for the same day and receive a complimentary lunch!

BARNSDALE GARDENS, RUTLAND Tutor Wendy Broad will show you how to re-use your old fabrics with this traditional crafting method. Come away with some textile knowhow and a floral-themed cushion cover to brighten up the home. ✤June 9, July11, Aug15*, £32 per person, plus £5 for a starter pack, 2-4.30pm. Call 01572 813200 or email courses@ barnsdalegardens.co.uk to reserve your place. www. barnsdalegardens.co.uk

✢ Finder’s Keepers Food Trail HAROME

✢ Spoon Carving Course

AND SURROUNDING AREA, YORKSHIRE Hone your foraging skills with local expert Chris Bax, and discover how to make the most of the countryside’s seasonal produce. Includes a gourmet picnic lunch, transport between venues and dinner at the Pheasant Hotel, Harome, to be served at 6pm. Appropriate footwear and wet weather gear may be needed!

WIMPOLE ESTATE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE Enjoy hacking at some wood with an axe, before learning how to whittle it into spoony perfection.

You’ll use a bowl hook and knife to add the finishing touches before taking your masterpiece home.

Porridge will never be the same again!

✤June 24, £160 per person, 10am start. Call 01904 448439 or visit www. yorkshirefoodfinder.org

✤June 28, £60 per person, tea and coffee provided. 9.30am4pm. Call 01223 206000, visit www. nationaltrust.org.uk

✢ Lakeland Photography Holiday Workshop LAKE DISTRICT, CUMBRIA Seasoned walkers love to bring home personal reminders of their days out – and now you can, on an all-inclusive workshop holiday. John Gravett will teach guests on location in the LEARN ON YOUR unspoilt Lakes and host evening HOLS! post-production reviews. Novices are very welcome! ✤Throughout August, £525 per person for four nights, including accommodation, tuition, food, soft drinks and excursions.

Call 01768 778459 or visit www.lakelandphotohols.com

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Ten of the best

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WORDS: ALEX FRISBY; PICS: NATIONAL TRUST/JOHN MILLAR; ALAMY

✢ Hand-sewn Patchworking

mfrom y lessons life…

Fresh from presenting Food Inspectors, Gaby Roslin chats about family, food, growing older and what makes her see red ✢ We are what we eat

✢ Work/life balance is a challenge I’m lucky enough to have amazing friends, great babysitters and the most fantastic husband; we just muddle through!

I’m honest with the kids (daughters Libbi-Jack, 12, and Amelie, 7) about why I work. We need the money, but also I love working and it’s good for me. They understand that.

✢ Bigotry makes me angry In any shape or form, bigotry makes me incredibly angry. There is so much to be valued in life, so many precious and important things. We shouldn’t waste our 146

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✢ Regrets are pointless

Gaby with fellow Food Inspectors Chris Hollins and Matt Allwright.

Below with daughter LibbiJack in 2004

We can’t regret the things we do or don’t do, because they make us who we are. There are a few things which, if I really think about them, maybe I would have done a bit differently, but everything works out. I feel I’m learning all the time and I want this always to be the case.

✢ Getting older doesn’t worry me time and energy being prejudiced against others. It’s a bad way to live.

✢ I love driving and fast cars

I keep being asked if I’m dreading my 50th birthday in July, but I don’t give it a moment’s thought. I’ve lost too many people at a young age – three close friends died of cancer within 18 months of each other and my mum was only 62 when she passed away – for me to fret about ageing. It’s just good being alive! I’m embracing getting older – it’s a whole lot better than the alternative.

This is a bit of an issue for me as it doesn’t exactly fit in with my Green beliefs. I do drive ✢ Gaby is presenting at The a ‘Green’ car but Charity Awards on June 12, in my fantasies, it’s a roaring (www.charityawards.co.uk). beast of a machine. Bad drivers Her radio show airs on BBC London drive me up the wall, as does (94.9 FM), Sundays at 3pm. the cliché about bad women ✢ The Food Inspectors is available drivers. After I’d parked my car on BBC iPlayer. the other day, I received ✢ She was speaking to Alison James. a patronising ‘well done’ from WHAT MADE YOU WHO YOU a couple of ARE TODAY? guys. How dare My parents – I think that must be the case for most they! I bet I’m a people. They taught me to follow my dreams and better ‘parker’ not sweat about the small stuff. Also becoming a than they are. mum has made me a different person.

PICS: BBC, REX FEATURES

I’ve known this for years as I’ve studied nutrition, but it’s especially pertinent for me at the moment after presenting a strand in BBC’s The Food Inspectors called What’s in Your Food? Some of our reports were quite graphic. If you watched the programmes you may not want to eat processed meat again, for instance!

Personally I never eat wheat as I have an allergy and red meat is a no-no. Free-range and organic is the way to go and I always check the labels on everything.