Forget The Devil Wears Prada 2: 3 Meryl Streep Hidden Gems You Need to See, Ranked

With The Devil Wears Prada 2 finally strutting into theaters worldwide — yes, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway are back, with Simone Ashley and Lady Gaga joining the fun — the early verdict is pretty simple: it works. And if you walk out wanting more Streep in your queue (I definitely did), here are a few of her most underrated turns that show off just how much range a three-time Oscar winner from New Jersey can pack into a career. From a bonkers comedy phase to a quietly devastating romance, these are the ones people weirdly skip.

• She-Devil (1989)

  Yes, Meryl Streep playing second banana to Roseanne Barr actually happened, and it’s kind of a joy. Streep leans into pure silliness as Mary Fisher, a mega-rich, self-important romance novelist with a mansion dipped in pink and a fake high-society vibe to match. She falls for Bob (Ed Begley Jr.), a married accountant with wandering eyes, and he promptly dumps his wife Ruth (Barr) and their kids to move in with Mary. That’s when Ruth goes full scorched earth, methodically dismantling both Bob’s life and Mary’s picture-perfect brand.

  The real kick is watching Streep relish a big, gaudy character as that flawless image starts to crack. It’s a weird little comedy, but seeing Meryl absolutely commit to broad, tacky glam was a preview of where she’d go next. No She-Devil, probably no later comedic gems like Death Becomes Her — and maybe no Miranda Priestly either.

• Death Becomes Her (1992)

  Cult classic? Absolutely. Properly appreciated? Still not as widely as, say, Bridesmaids. Which is wild, because this is a glorious black comedy about lifelong frenemies Madeline Ashton (Streep) and Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn) clawing at each other over Ernest Menville (Bruce Willis). Their arms race escalates when an agelessness potion enters the chat. Both women drink it. Immortality arrives — with a catch: you keep living, but your body keeps the damage. Cue broken necks, shotgun holes, and the pettiest eternal feud imaginable.

  "NOW a warning."
  "Wrinkled, wrinkled little star... hope they never see the scars."

  It’s packed with iconic lines, groundbreaking VFX, and even a delirious disco number where Meryl sings and dances her way through a riff on Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth. Also, its theme — chasing youth and beauty at any cost — hits even harder in 2026, when fillers, looksmaxxing, and Ozempic aren’t just Hollywood obsessions; they’re practically hobbies nationwide. File this one under: aged like fine, slightly toxic wine.

• The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

  Robert James Waller’s 1992 novel was a best-selling punching bag: slim, sappy, and, according to a lot of critics, not exactly high art. So the movie adaptation arriving three years later and turning out to be genuinely great felt like a twist ending. Directed by Clint Eastwood (who co-stars as National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid), the film is patient without dragging and laser-focused on two middle-aged people who surprise themselves by falling madly in love over a few days in 1960s Iowa.

  As Francesca Johnson, a married Italian immigrant and devoted mother, Streep nails everything — the accent, the posture of someone who’s built a life around duty, and the kind of buried desire that sneaks up and flips the table. It might be her single best performance, even if The Devil Wears Prada will always win the pop-culture crown.