Meryl Streep and Jet Li occupy two entirely different corners of the entertainment universe. One is the most nominated actress in Academy Awards history, and the other is a Wushu champion turned global action-cinema icon, yet both built five-decade careers defined by discipline, reinvention, and staying power. This article breaks down their age, early life, career milestones, family, net worth, acting philosophy, and lasting legacy side by side.
Quick Facts: Meryl Streep vs. Jet Li
| Meryl Streep | Jet Li | |
|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Mary Louise Streep | Li Lianjie |
| Born | June 22, 1949, Summit, New Jersey | April 26, 1963, Beijing, China |
| Age (2026) | 77 | 63 |
| Known for | Dramatic acting, accents, range | Wushu-based martial arts cinema |
| Years active | 1975–present | 1982–present (largely retired from acting) |
| Training | Vassar College, Yale School of Drama | Beijing Wushu Team |
| Net worth | Roughly $100–160 million (estimates vary) | Roughly $250 million (estimates vary) |
| Home base | United States | Singapore |
Meryl Streep: Age, Early Life, and Rise to Stardom
Mary Louise “Meryl” Streep was born June 22, 1949, in Summit, New Jersey, making her 77 in 2026, per her Wikipedia profile. She grew up in a creative household. Her mother, Mary Wilkinson Streep, was a commercial artist, and her father, Harry William Streep Jr., worked as a pharmaceutical executive. She trained as a singer from age twelve before shifting toward theater, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from Vassar College in 1971 and a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama in 1975. Before Hollywood, she worked extensively in New York theater, including a run on Broadway that helped shape the technical precision she later became known for on screen.
Streep made her film debut in 1977’s Julia and broke through with 1978’s The Deer Hunter, a role De Niro reportedly championed after seeing her onstage. She went on to win the Oscar for best supporting actress for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1979, then best actress for Sophie’s Choice in 1982 and The Iron Lady in 2011, amassing a record 21 Oscar nominations along the way, a milestone detailed on her Britannica biography page. She’s set to reprise her role as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Jet Li: Age, Early Life, and the Path to Wushu Stardom
Jet Li, born Li Lianjie on April 26, 1963, in Beijing, turns 63 in 2026, according to his Wikipedia entry. He was the youngest of four children, and his father died when Li was only two, leaving the family to struggle financially. At eight years old, his talent for Wushu was spotted during a school summer program, and he joined the Beijing Wushu Team under coaches Li Junfeng and Wu Bin. He won fifteen gold medals and one silver at the Chinese Wushu Championships, even competing against adults while still a child.
A knee injury pushed Li out of competitive Wushu around the turn of the 1980s, redirecting him toward film. His screen debut came with the Shaolin Temple trilogy (1982, 1984, 1985), a martial-arts revenge story that became a massive hit across Hong Kong and China. He went on to headline global hits like Hero, Once Upon a Time in China, Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, and The Forbidden Kingdom, before mostly stepping back from acting after 2016.
Meryl Streep’s Most Notable Films
Streep’s filmography spans nearly every genre, but a handful of roles are widely considered career-defining:
- Kramer vs. Kramer (1979): Her first Academy Award win, opposite Dustin Hoffman
- Sophie’s Choice (1982): Widely regarded as one of the most demanding dramatic performances of her career
- Out of Africa (1985): A major box-office hit and Best Picture winner
- The Bridges of Madison County (1995): A shift into romantic drama opposite Clint Eastwood
- The Devil Wears Prada (2006): Introduced Streep to a new generation as the icy Miranda Priestly
- Mamma Mia! (2008): Showed her musical range in a box-office smash
- The Iron Lady (2011): Her third Oscar win, playing Margaret Thatcher
- Big Little Lies / Only Murders in the Building: Acclaimed television work in her later career
Jet Li’s Most Notable Films
Li’s filmography is built around martial-arts choreography as much as storytelling:
- Shaolin Temple (1982): His breakout role, made while he was still a competitive Wushu athlete
- Once Upon a Time in China (1991): Cemented his status as a leading man in Hong Kong cinema
- Fist of Legend (1994): Frequently cited by fans as one of his finest martial-arts performances
- Lethal Weapon 4 (1998): His first major Hollywood studio role
- Romeo Must Die (2000) and Kiss of the Dragon (2001): Cemented his Hollywood crossover
- Hero (2002): An internationally acclaimed wuxia epic that broadened his reputation as a serious actor, not just an action star
- The Forbidden Kingdom (2008): His first on-screen pairing with Jackie Chan
- Mulan (2020): A supporting role in Disney’s live-action remake
Career Turning Points
Meryl Streep’s defining moments:
- 1978: Breakout supporting role in The Deer Hunter
- 1979: First Oscar win (Best Supporting Actress) for Kramer vs. Kramer
- 1982: Second Oscar win (Best Actress) for Sophie’s Choice
- 2011: Third Oscar win for The Iron Lady
- 2026: Returning as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2
Jet Li’s defining moments:
- 1974 to 1979: National Wushu champion, representing China internationally
- 1982: Film debut in Shaolin Temple
- 2000s: Hollywood crossover with Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, Hero
- 2007: Founded The One Foundation, which has since raised over $300 million for disaster relief, per this Yahoo Finance report on his net worth
- 2026: Released his memoir, Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom, on May 5, 2026
Acting Philosophy: Emotional Precision vs. Physical Discipline
Streep’s reputation rests on technical command: dialect work, subtle facial expression, and a willingness to disappear into radically different characters, from a Polish concentration camp survivor to a British prime minister. Critics and peers have long pointed to her preparation process, which often includes months of dialect coaching and character research before a single scene is filmed.
Li’s craft comes from a different discipline entirely. His Wushu background means his fight choreography is rooted in real competitive technique rather than pure stunt work, which is part of why his early Chinese-language films are still studied by martial-arts choreographers. In interviews, Li has often described his shift away from action films as a response to feeling that pure physical performance no longer reflected what he wanted to communicate, a turn toward philosophy, spirituality, and philanthropy that shaped his post-2016 public life.
Family Life
Streep married sculptor Don Gummer in 1978. The couple has four children, Henry, Mamie, Grace, and Louisa, and reportedly separated in 2017. Before Gummer, she was in a relationship with actor John Cazale until his death in 1978.
Li was first married to fellow Wushu team member Huang Qiuyan, with whom he has two daughters; the couple divorced in 1990. He later married Hong Kong actress Nina Li Chi in 1999, and the couple has two more daughters together. Li now lives primarily in Singapore with his family.
Net Worth: Meryl Streep vs. Jet Li
Estimates for both stars vary widely by source. Celebrity Net Worth places Streep’s fortune at $100 million, built primarily through acting salaries that reportedly reach $20 million for major films. Other outlets estimate her wealth closer to $160 million once real estate and television royalties are factored in.
Jet Li’s net worth is commonly estimated at $250 million by Celebrity Net Worth, built across his Chinese and Hollywood film careers, endorsements, and investments. Unlike Streep, whose wealth comes almost entirely from acting, Li’s fortune also reflects decades of brand endorsements in Asia and a more diversified investment portfolio.
Health and Life Today
Li has dealt with hyperthyroidism in recent years, which slowed his film output, though reports of his death that periodically circulate online are false. He remains active in philanthropy and released a memoir in 2026. Streep, meanwhile, continues to work steadily, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 marking one of her most anticipated recent projects.
Awards and Recognition
Streep’s trophy case is one of the largest in film history: three Academy Awards, eight Golden Globes, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a record 21 Oscar nominations, a number no other performer has matched. She has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Kennedy Center Honors for her contribution to American culture.
Li’s recognition looks different by design, reflecting a career split between sport and cinema. He won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor for his role in The Warlords, and his early Wushu career earned him China’s highest national athletic honors before he ever appeared on screen. His humanitarian work through The One Foundation later earned him a place on the Time 100 list, a rare crossover between entertainment recognition and philanthropic impact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jet Li older or younger than Meryl Streep? Meryl Streep is older. She was born in 1949, while Jet Li was born in 1963, a 14-year age gap.
Are Meryl Streep and Jet Li still acting? Streep remains active, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 among her upcoming projects. Li has largely stepped back from acting since 2016, focusing instead on philanthropy, spirituality, and writing.
Who has a higher net worth, Meryl Streep or Jet Li? By most third-party estimates, Jet Li’s net worth (around $250 million) is higher than Streep’s (estimated between $100 and $160 million), though figures vary by source and aren’t independently verified.
Did Meryl Streep and Jet Li ever work together? No verified record exists of the two co-starring in a project. Their careers have run largely in parallel, in different film industries.
Meryl Streep and Jet Li: What Connects Two Very Different Legends
On paper, Meryl Streep and Jet Li couldn’t be further apart. One built a career on emotional precision in American and European drama, and the other on physical discipline rooted in Chinese Wushu tradition. But both turned early, intense training (Yale drama school for Streep, elite Wushu coaching for Li) into careers that reshaped their respective industries, and both remain culturally relevant deep into their sixties and seventies, proof that longevity in entertainment looks different depending on which world you come from, but the discipline behind it doesn’t.
Net worth figures are third-party estimates and can vary significantly between sources.