Meryl Streep Lost Her First Love John Cazale, The Devastating Tragedy Shaped Her As An Actress

Meryl Louise Streep, a name that hardly needs any introduction. The American actress practically broke many records with her outstanding performances. Described as the best actress of her generation, Meryl has won the Academy Awards three times in her five-decade-long career. After her acting debut in Julia in 1977, she awed audiences with her versatile roles.

Be it a Holocaust survivor in Sophie’s Choice or 'Margaret Thatcher' in The Iron Lady, Meryl never failed to amaze her fans with her performances. Talking about Meryl’s personal life, the actress got married to sculptor Don Gummer and is a parent to four children. The couple secretly separated in 2017 and publicly announced their separation after 6 years in 2023.

Not many people know that, before marrying Don Gummer, Meryl was in a serious relationship with actor John Cazale, which ended in a tragic way. Even to this day, Meryl is unable to come to terms with it and still looks back on her relationship with John as one of the sweetest memories of her life. Let us read on to know more about Meryl and John’s tragic love story.

Meryl Streep fell in love with a 14-year senior actor, John Cazale

Meryl was 26 when she arrived in New York City to act on Broadway in 1976. She was cast in six plays in her first year in New York. When Streep was cast in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, she met John Cazale for the first time. He was already an established star who acted as ‘Fredo Corleone’ in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II.

They acted together in the play, and Cazale was bestowed by Streep and her versatility. The two became friends and eventually fell in love with each other. They laughed and cracked jokes off stage, falling hopelessly in love with one another.

Meryl Streep and John Cazale’s unfulfilled promise of marriage

Soon Streep moved into Cazale’s Tribeca apartment on the Lower West Side of the city. The duo had an age gap of 14 years, but it hardly mattered to them and they were comfortable in each other’s company. They promised each other that they would get married as soon as they landed on their next big project.

Cazale was actor Al Pacino’s best friend, and the latter called him his ‘acting partner’. Pacino was very much aware of Cazale and Streep’s love for each other. However, he felt that Cazale saw a major storm approaching his life. Speaking about the same, Pacino said:

“There was some foreboding, I think. He saw something in the future. I didn't know what it was. But he might have seen what was going to happen to him, or felt it. I don't know. He didn't want to have children, I don't think."

John Cazale’s terminal illness turned Meryl Streep’s life

It was during one of his Broadway plays that Cazale felt something was wrong with him. He soon began missing performances in May 1977, and that was the time when Cazale thought of visiting a doctor. Streep and Cazale were sitting at the doctor’s clinic soon the diagnosis of lung cancer was read out. The cancer had spread throughout his body. For a moment, John and Streep went silent as they knew their world had turned upside down.

She didn’t lose her cool and kept the severity of Cazale’s illness to herself. Cazale would often show up in theatres smoking cigars, but she never criticised or nagged him. She never discussed the severity of the illness with anyone, not even with Cazale’s brother, Stephen, until Cazale spat blood after having lunch in Chinatown.

Meryl Streep signed films to pay the medical bills of her dying boyfriend, John Cazale

Cazale was offered the 1978 film, The Deer Hunter, alongside Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. The film was Streep and Cazale’s ticket to marry; instead, it changed their lives forever. Streep agreed to act in the project despite her hatred towards the character, only to be close to Cazale.

Soon, his illness was too difficult to hide and the producers refused to insure him, asking for his removal from the film. Streep threatened to quit if Cazale was removed, leaving the makers with no other option. Streep told the makers to shoot Cazale’s part first, as she was certain he would live to see the film completed.

Meryl was the lead in the nine-hour TV miniseries Holocaust, which required her to be in Austria for 2 months. She took the role only to fund Cazale’s medical bills. She worked relentlessly, away from her boyfriend and zipped out of the shooting on the last day.

Meryl Streep was clung to John Cazale on his deathbed

When Streep rushed back to New York City, Cazale was in very bad shape. The couple disappeared from the public light before Christmas 1977, shutting themselves away from the world. They stayed together in the Tribeca apartment with Streep accompanying Cazale to every medical, radiation, and chemotherapy appointment. She was devoted to him, never leaving his side or hope.

On March 12, 1978, Streep’s world came crashing down when Cazale left for the heavenly abode. Her faith was so strong that she wasn’t ready to believe that the man she loved the most had left her alone in the world. Writer Michael Schulman revealed Streep’s last moment with Cazale and said:

“What happened next, by some accounts, was the culmination of all the tenacious hope Meryl had kept alive for the past 10 months. She pounded on his chest, sobbing, and for a brief, alarming moment, John opened his eyes. ‘It’s all right, Meryl,’ he said weakly. ‘It’s all right.’ ” Then he closed his eyes and died.”

Cazale’s death transformed Streep. She won an Emmy for Holocaust, a film she took to pay Cazale's bills. An Oscar nomination for The Deer Hunter, her last film with Cazale. Though she became a star, the last moments she spent with Cazale and their tragic love story changed something inside her. It transformed her as a person, as an actress. Years later, in an interview, Streep revealed whether she got over Cazale and said:

“I didn't get over it. I don't want to get over it. No matter what you do, the pain is always there in some recess of your mind, and it affects everything that happens afterwards. I think you can assimilate the pain and go on without making an obsession of it.”

Meryl Streep devoted herself to John Cazale, the man who made her believe in herself. Their tragic love story shaped her as an actress but left her with a hollowness inside.

Also Read: The Mummy's Rachel Weisz Is Married To '007's Daniel Craig, A Look At Their Decade-Long Marital Life

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