Meryl Streep has revealed she initially rejected The Devil Wears Prada before ultimately signing on after negotiating a higher salary.
During a Today interview alongside Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, Streep discussed how she came to sign on for the original The Devil Wears Prada.
“I knew it was going to be a hit,” Streep told host Jenna Bush Hager (who herself has a cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2).
Streep explained she expected the project to succeed and negotiated her salary with that in mind, adding, “I read the script — the script was great. They called me up, and they made an offer, and I said ‘No. I’m not going to do it.'”
She mentioned, “I wanted to see if I doubled my ask, and they went right away and said ‘Sure.'”
Recalling the decision, Streep said, “I’m 56 years [old] — it took me this long to understand that I could do that! I was sure of it. I was sure it would be a hit. And they needed me, I felt. And I wanted it, but if they didn’t want to do that, I was okay. Because I’m old — I’m 56, I was ready to retire.”
Notably, Meryl Streep is set to reprise her role of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2, which hit theaters on May 1, 2026.
