Meryl Streep For January Vogue Is Mag's Oldest Cover Girl (PHOTOS)

When magazines blithely declare a celeb to be "America's Greatest (fill in the blank)", our tendency is to disagree -- or simply ignore.

But we are totally, completely on board with Vogue bestowing the title of "America's Greatest Actress" upon the indomitable Meryl Streep, who covers the mag's January issue with the appropriately glowing headline.

Streep, who turned 62 this year, is the oldest woman to grace Vogue's cover solo (in 2004, 59-year-old Priscilla Presley appeared on the cover alongside her daughter and granddaughter). But from the admiring article inside, it's clear that age has only affected her in the best of ways.

Vicki Woods writes:

Her skin is fabulous and luminously pale, and her pretty hands are manicured so naturally that I can't tell if her nails are polished or just beautifully buffed. She is slight and delicate, maybe more than I expected -- but that's because my recollection of her physicality is not memory (I never met her before) but illusion. Streep on my screen is sturdy, giant, and galumphing; homely, fine-boned, and aristocratic; earthy and sensual; couture-skinny; heart-of-glass delicate: It is not just her accents that change from movie to movie.

But skin aside (because what celebrity mag profile is complete without an in-depth description of the subject's glowing skin?), Meryl is reveling in her age in other ways. Succeeding as a female in Hollywood at this age is no small thing, as she told Woods:

In 1989, she turned 40. "I remember turning to my husband and saying, 'Well, what should we do? Because it's over.' " The following year, she received three offers to play witches in different movies. She saw the subtext pretty clearly: "Once women passed childbearing age they could only be seen as grotesque on some level."

Grotesque she is not. Streep looks lovely on the cover, namely because she looks her age -- no Botox, fillers or spray tans here, just a makeup-light face and some cozy clothes care of Carolina Herrera, Vince and Lauren by Ralph Lauren.

See a few photos below and see the rest at Vogue.com.

Comments

[ummm]

08:41 PM on 12/22/2011

what are the odds of one actress having 3 daughters all actresses? (not likely vogue begged meryl to be on their jan cover because she's a 62 year-old who has the means to keep herself looking good- it's all part of the pr to promote the new movie)

[DreamWeaver2nd]

11:53 PM on 12/22/2011

The "means to keep herself looking good-" I don't think you get it: she's all natural and healthy. Those means are simply built in for Ms. Streep.

[ummm]

02:33 AM on 12/23/2011

right. she gets her face creams at wegman's and dyes her hair herself or like any self-respecting movie star she pays for expensive grooming and nothing wrong with either way :-)

[jeanmuch]

03:35 PM on 12/14/2011

Meryl rocks. It's about time a major US magazine got that us gals get bettter with age!

BetterAfter50

[suebeedue]

11:21 AM on 12/14/2011

Gorgeous pictures! Women do get better with age. And the pic of her sitting on the rocks- what a stunning piece of photography!

[Primesuspect]

11:03 PM on 12/13/2011

Cover girl? Would you call aging actors like Harrison Ford cover boys? No, you'd find another way to phrase it. Streep looks radiant, healthy - and light years more youthful than actors her age - and many younger.

[brooklyncitizen]

10:28 PM on 12/13/2011

I have a lot of respect for her...mainly that she seems like a real woman, has aged well, doesn't exploit her family and keeps them and her personal life private. I like that I don't know her political views, how many kids she has, where they vacationed, if there is a sex tape, and who she is with (male or female, dunno).
I like that all I know is that if I go to her movie I will be entertained and/or impressed.

[metivo]

09:00 AM on 12/14/2011

I feel the same way. There's never a whiff of scandal or attitude about her. She's never involved in any messy lawsuits or divorces. It's a master-lesson on how to handle oneself while being world famous. And she appears to actually read scripts and consider her projects carefully because her batting record is astounding. Go Meryl.

[Kadeed]

05:33 PM on 12/13/2011

Stunning!

[anneeger]

02:26 PM on 12/13/2011

This is why I never buy any fashion magazine. They are trying to sell me stuff using models and celebrities who are all decades younger than me. I consider that an insult.

I will never forget Meryl Streep in "Out of Africa". But I do not want to see an airbrushed version of her on the cover of Vogue. One of her big advantages is that she seems so real.

[THISTLE]

01:35 PM on 12/13/2011

Ms. Streep has that rarest of qualities, she is authentic, she has beauty, depth and substance.
A brilliant actress and a real human being. She brings to life the characters she plays with
such depth, and substance. And it is clear she can play any character like no other actress
can. And she looks so beautiful on the Cover of VOGUE. Congrats to Ms. Streep and congrats
to the editors at VOGUE for this beautiful cover of this magnificent woman.

[playsindirt]

12:59 PM on 12/13/2011

She'll be fabulous at 90. The woman is breathtaking.

[cincypix]

12:11 PM on 12/13/2011

A carefully-nurtured inner life, disciplined eating and common sense approach to exercise play big parts in Meryl's enduring appeal as well, one could posit.

[inkongirl]

11:39 AM on 12/13/2011

Meryl Streep is awesome.

[freddsky]

10:41 AM on 12/13/2011

What a far cry from the character in Death Becomes Her, who, after catching a glimpse of her rain-soaked haggard face in the rear-view mirror, had to stop her car and scream. "Mutton struttin'" rather than "mutton dressed as lamb." Or, to quote young Bobby Hyatt from Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, "I don't think she's mature--I think she's nice!"

[HunGirl2012]

03:19 PM on 12/13/2011

Love that movie.

[Thomas Bradley]

10:39 AM on 12/13/2011

In a world inundated with Kar$kankian$ and Pari$ Hilton and reality show biotche$ and other such twaddle, it's good to see Vogue selected someone of substance for the cover shot. Just simply an awesome woman.

[thegriotspeaks]

10:22 AM on 12/13/2011

Beautiful! She looks like a healthy, happy, loving and loved woman.
None of that overly made up, overly Botoxed, spackled, plastic stuff.
Just a fresh, open face.
Well done, Vogue!

[balloonboyrama]

10:20 AM on 12/13/2011

28 years old, I tip my hat to you Mrs. Streep.