Three-Time Oscar Winner Doubled Her 'The Devil Wears Prada' Salary at 56 With One Phone Call
Meryl Streep initially turned down the role of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. Then she came back with a counter-offer.
In a TODAY exclusive that aired Wednesday morning, Streep sat with Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci and walked Jenna Bush Hager through how the deal that produced the 2006 movie actually came together. She read the script, loved it and said no. Then she came back and asked for double her original salary. The studio agreed right away.
The Line Fans Seized On
The reveal that lit up social media was about timing. Streep was 56 when she made the original Prada, and she said it took her until that point in her career to realize she could use her leverage that way.
"I'm 56, it took me this long to understand that I can do that," Streep told the group.
It is a quietly radical thing for one of the most decorated actors in American film history to say out loud. Prada opened in June 2006 and went on to gross more than $326 million worldwide on a budget Streep has separately described as tight.
Why the Story Is Landing Now
The TODAY interview is part of the press push for The Devil Wears Prada 2, which arrives in theaters Friday, May 1. The whole original cast is back. Streep, Hathaway, Blunt and Tucci have been on the press circuit together for weeks. The salary story is the one fans latched onto.
Hathaway recently told Parade about her experience filming the sequel. Streep has been revisiting Miranda Priestly in nearly every press stop, including her admission that the character was modeled less on Anna Wintour and more on Mike Nichols and Clint Eastwood. The 20-year gap between films has produced an unexpectedly active second life for the role.
The Takeaway
Streep doubled her ask. The studio said yes. She made what would become one of the defining performances of her late career, and she did it on her terms. The lesson she pulled out of it, two decades later, was simple. She could have done it sooner.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theaters May 1.
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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 5:06 PM.