Meryl Streep is still the queen of Hollywood.
The 67-year-old timeless actress appears on the cover of WSJ magazine's September women's fashion issue, and in her interview, she gets candid on what it's like approaching 40 impressive years in the film industry.
"I remember as I was hovering around [age] 40, I thought each movie would be my last, really," she confesses. "And all the evidence of other 40-year-old women at that time -- this is 27 years ago -- would leave you to believe it was over."
Although Streep's attended a myriad of glamorous film premieres over the years (and has racked up 19 Academy Award acting nominations!), she admits she's still not jaded.
"It's quite a scene, isn't it? It doesn't get old," she gushes. "I mean, who gets to see a movie with 1,600 people?"
After all these years in the biz, Streep says continuing to act all comes down to one thing -- passion.
"On a certain level you don't have any choice -- you're unhappy if you're not doing it, so you're compelled in a certain way," she explains. "And if you're lucky, you can keep working."
Lucky, indeed! Streep stars in the upcoming Florence Foster Jenkins comedy, which is based on the true story of an eccentric New York socialite who dreams of becoming an opera singer in the '40s. The problem? She doesn't have the pipes to realistically make that goal a reality -- but that doesn't stop her from trying.
"[It was] one of the most fun things I've done, without question," Streep says of playing the role, adding that having to sing badly was "surprisingly easy."
Aside from film, Streep also touches on what it's like to see herself being turned into a meme, specifically having an entire fan-created Instagram account (@tasteofstreep) dedicated to Photoshopped pics of her lying on a pile of French fries, posing flawlessly in the center of a chicken pot pie and standing on a pepperoni pizza.
"I don't even know what that means. People have too much time on their hands," she jokes. "We need to create more jobs! My head is coming out of a chimichanga. Can you imagine?"
🍟🍟🍟🍟🍟🍟🍟🍟🍟 #merylstreep #frenchfries
A photo posted by taste of streep (@tasteofstreep) on
A photo posted by taste of streep (@tasteofstreep) on
A photo posted by taste of streep (@tasteofstreep) on
WATCH: 'The Devil Wears Prada' Turns 10! All the Lessons We Learned From the Iconic Movie
Last month, The Devil Wears Prada officially turned 10 years old, and it's crazy to think it's been an entire decade since we saw Streep play devilish fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly. In honor of the film's milestone anniversary, ET rounded up the 10 most important lessons from the iconic film.
Watch the video below to hear more!
