Meryl Streep Doubled Disney Offer to $5 Million for Miranda Priestly
meryl streep said she turned down Disney’s initial offer for Miranda Priestly in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, then countered at double and got it. She said the studio agreed immediately, lifting her compensation from about $2.5 million to roughly $5 million.
Streep’s $2.5 Million Counter
Streep described the negotiation on NBC’s Today and framed it in blunt terms: “I’m 56 years old. It took me this long to understand that I could do that,” she said. “They needed me, I felt. But that was a lesson.”
The original offer was approximately $2.5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Her counter brought the final figure to roughly $5 million, a rare instance of a performer doubling a first offer on the spot and seeing the number accepted without a prolonged standoff.
Negotiation As Pay Data
Her deal lands inside a broader salary picture that has been studied for years. One cited figure in the discussion says a worker who does not negotiate a starting salary can lose more than $634,000 over a lifetime, while a 25-year-old who adds just $5,000 to the first offer can earn roughly that much more over a 40-year career.
That is where Streep’s story goes beyond one contract. It turns a celebrity payday into a clean example of how the first ask can reset a total comp package, especially when the person on the other side needs the talent enough to move fast.
Jessica Kennedy On Salary Gaps
A Fidelity Investments survey found that 87 per cent of people who negotiated salary or benefits received at least some of what they asked for. Harvard Kennedy School professor Hannah Riley Bowles and Vanderbilt professor Jessica Kennedy were cited alongside the research, with Kennedy saying, “Women are willing to do their part to close the gender pay gap.”
Kennedy also said, “Unfortunately, negotiating well isn't enough. It's not the source of the problem.” Streep’s deal fits that point neatly: the leverage was real, the request was simple, and the result added about $2.5 million to the final number.
For anyone entering a pay discussion, the practical read is plain. Ask higher, and ask with a number in mind. Streep did, and the studio answered at once.
