'Iron Lady' Meryl Streep "in awe" of Margaret Thatcher

Meryl Streep has revealed that she admires Margaret Thatcher's achievements.

The Oscar-winning actress, who plays the former British Prime Minister in The Iron Lady, said that she appreciates Thatcher's contribution to society.

Streep told the Radio Times: "The more I learned, the more my view of her changed. Wherever you stand on her policies, and many people didn't like her, the scale of her influence and the fact that she got things done was extraordinary.

"And the mental, physical, spiritual energy that it took to live every one of those days as head of the government was phenomenal. It's really humbling to consider that she was at 10 Downing Street for ten and a half years. I admire that achievement. I stand in awe of it, even though I didn't agree with a lot of her policies."



Streep continued: "I was aware of her very early on and, even though her policies were not popular, to say the least, in my circles, people were kind of thrilled that a woman had become leader.

"When I was in college the professions open to women were so few - there were very few women that went to law school, no-one dreamed of being a corporate head, it was out of the question.

"You could, perhaps, become leader of a company, maybe if they made make-up. You could be editor of a magazine but only if it was a woman's magazine... that's the world that Margaret Thatcher entered and then rose right to the very top and it's extraordinary.

"I don't think we have given her a pass on anything but I hope that she would see that the film is made with respect."

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