'You can do anything!'

Meryl was a cheerleader in high school and had not taken much of an interest in acting.

But once she appeared in the play 'Miss Julie' at Vassar College in 1969 and received acclaim across campus acting became her passion.

She moved to New York in 1975 and made her stage debut in the play 'Trelawny of the Wells', later revealing that it was her mother who served as a "mentor" towards her.

Meryl said: "She was a mentor because she said to me, 'Meryl, you're capable. You're so great.' She was saying, 'You can do whatever you put your mind to. If you're lazy, you're not going to get it done. But if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.' And I believed her."