Photo:Catherine McGann/Getty
Catherine McGann/Getty
Meryl StreepandDon Gummershared decades of special moments before their quiet separation.While theMamma Mia!star largely kept her relationship out of the spotlight, she and the artist met 1978 and spent nearly 40 years together, welcoming four kids over the course of their marriage.In October 2023, PEOPLE confirmed reports that the longtime pairended the romantic nature of their relationshipsix years earlier. “Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart,” a representative for Streep said in a statement to PEOPLE.Look back on photos from Streep and Gummer’s time together, from their earliest appearances to more recent red carpet outings.
Meryl StreepandDon Gummershared decades of special moments before their quiet separation.
While theMamma Mia!star largely kept her relationship out of the spotlight, she and the artist met 1978 and spent nearly 40 years together, welcoming four kids over the course of their marriage.
In October 2023, PEOPLE confirmed reports that the longtime pairended the romantic nature of their relationshipsix years earlier. “Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart,” a representative for Streep said in a statement to PEOPLE.
Look back on photos from Streep and Gummer’s time together, from their earliest appearances to more recent red carpet outings.
01of 10The Early YearsMeryl Streep and Don Gummer.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via GettyStreep and Gummer’s relationship blossomed into a source of light during one of the darkest times of her early life. The duomet through Streep’s brotherin 1978, when the actress was mourning the death of her boyfriend of two years, fellow actorJohn Cazale.While Gummer was traveling abroad, Streepsublet his apartmentwhile she filmedKramer vs. Kramer. But when an accident cut Gummer’s trip short, the two connected and ended up falling in love. Six months later, in September 1978, they were married in the garden of her parents' home.
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The Early Years
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Streep and Gummer’s relationship blossomed into a source of light during one of the darkest times of her early life. The duomet through Streep’s brotherin 1978, when the actress was mourning the death of her boyfriend of two years, fellow actorJohn Cazale.
While Gummer was traveling abroad, Streepsublet his apartmentwhile she filmedKramer vs. Kramer. But when an accident cut Gummer’s trip short, the two connected and ended up falling in love. Six months later, in September 1978, they were married in the garden of her parents' home.
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Longtime Date
03of 10
On Their Own Paths
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.Barry King/WireImage
Barry King/WireImage
04of 10Making It WorkMeryl Streep and Don Gummer.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via GettyIn 2002, Streep opened up toVogueabout how she and Gummer sustained a healthy relationship over the decades. Their secret was “goodwill and willingness to bend — and to shut up every once in a while,” the actress said at the time.“There’s no road map on how to raise a family: It’s always an enormous negotiation,” Streep continued. “But I have a holistic need to work and to have huge ties of love in my life. I can’t imagine eschewing one for the other.”
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Making It Work
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
In 2002, Streep opened up toVogueabout how she and Gummer sustained a healthy relationship over the decades. Their secret was “goodwill and willingness to bend — and to shut up every once in a while,” the actress said at the time.
“There’s no road map on how to raise a family: It’s always an enormous negotiation,” Streep continued. “But I have a holistic need to work and to have huge ties of love in my life. I can’t imagine eschewing one for the other.”
05of 10Proud HusbandMeryl Streep and Don Gummer.Barry King/WireImageGummer celebrated as his wife won three Oscars, the first of which was forKramer vs. Kramerin 1980.
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Proud Husband
Gummer celebrated as his wife won three Oscars, the first of which was forKramer vs. Kramerin 1980.
06of 10Expanding Their FamilyMeryl Streep, Don Gummer and their daughters Grace and Marnie.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via GettyStreep and Gummer are mom and dad tofour kids: son Henry and daughters Mamie, Gracie and Louisa. (Mamie and Gracie are pictured with their parents in 1994.)Speaking to theSydney Morning Heraldin 2019, Streep explained that she and her artist husband complement each other as parents, calling him the “good cop” to her “bad cop.““Teamwork is everything. My husband Don was … very involved,” she said. “He was a little more relaxed when it comes to raising kids. I was more of a tiger mom.”
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Expanding Their Family
Meryl Streep, Don Gummer and their daughters Grace and Marnie.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Streep and Gummer are mom and dad tofour kids: son Henry and daughters Mamie, Gracie and Louisa. (Mamie and Gracie are pictured with their parents in 1994.)
Speaking to theSydney Morning Heraldin 2019, Streep explained that she and her artist husband complement each other as parents, calling him the “good cop” to her “bad cop.”
“Teamwork is everything. My husband Don was … very involved,” she said. “He was a little more relaxed when it comes to raising kids. I was more of a tiger mom.”
07of 10The Gang’s All HereMeryl Streep, Don Gummer and their kids.L. Cohen/WireImage for USA CableTheir eldest, Henry, was born in 1979 and has grown up to become a musician. Mamie, born in 1983, starting following in her mother’s Hollywood footsteps at just 20 months old, when she appeared alongside Streep in the 1986 filmHeartburn,and she continues to act.Streep and Gummer welcomed their daughter Grace in 1986. She’s also become an actress and is married to songwriter and music producer Mark Ronson. The youngest Gummer sibling, Louisa Jacobson, was born in 1991 and, like her mother and sister Grace, graduated from Vassar College. She uses her middle name as a surname because there was already a Louisa Gummer in the Screen Actors Guild.
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The Gang’s All Here
Meryl Streep, Don Gummer and their kids.L. Cohen/WireImage for USA Cable
L. Cohen/WireImage for USA Cable
Their eldest, Henry, was born in 1979 and has grown up to become a musician. Mamie, born in 1983, starting following in her mother’s Hollywood footsteps at just 20 months old, when she appeared alongside Streep in the 1986 filmHeartburn,and she continues to act.
Streep and Gummer welcomed their daughter Grace in 1986. She’s also become an actress and is married to songwriter and music producer Mark Ronson. The youngest Gummer sibling, Louisa Jacobson, was born in 1991 and, like her mother and sister Grace, graduated from Vassar College. She uses her middle name as a surname because there was already a Louisa Gummer in the Screen Actors Guild.
08of 10All Dressed UpMeryl Streep and Don Gummer.Venturelli/WireImageGummer honored his wife along with several other guests at a celebratory gala during the 2009 International Rome Film Festival.
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All Dressed Up
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.Venturelli/WireImage
Venturelli/WireImage
Gummer honored his wife along with several other guests at a celebratory gala during the 2009 International Rome Film Festival.
09of 10Red Carpet SweetheartsMeryl Streep and Don Gummer.VALERIE MACON/AFP via GettyGummer’s been Streep’s date to some of glitziest and most glamorous affairs in Tinseltown, and the actress has paid it forward.While she once forgot to thank her husband during an Oscars acceptance speech, Streep made up for it with kind words in 2012. As she received the Best Actress award for her role inThe Iron Lady, she immediately nodded to Gummer.“First, I’m going to thank Don because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech they play him out with the music, and I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you’ve given me,” she said.
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Red Carpet Sweethearts
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty
Gummer’s been Streep’s date to some of glitziest and most glamorous affairs in Tinseltown, and the actress has paid it forward.
While she once forgot to thank her husband during an Oscars acceptance speech, Streep made up for it with kind words in 2012. As she received the Best Actress award for her role inThe Iron Lady, she immediately nodded to Gummer.
“First, I’m going to thank Don because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech they play him out with the music, and I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you’ve given me,” she said.
10of 10A Special MomentMeryl Streep and Don Gummer.Kevin Winter/GettyA photographer captured an adorable moment between the longtime couple at the 2017 Academy Awards. The evening marked a milestone for theSophie’s Choicestar, who was up for her20th Oscar. (She now boasts a total of 21 nominations, as of 2018.)
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A Special Moment
Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.Kevin Winter/Getty
Kevin Winter/Getty
A photographer captured an adorable moment between the longtime couple at the 2017 Academy Awards. The evening marked a milestone for theSophie’s Choicestar, who was up for her20th Oscar. (She now boasts a total of 21 nominations, as of 2018.)
source: people.com
