8. Before accepting the part, Streep made a very Miranda Priestly-like move. Despite having already collected two Oscars and another 11 nominations by that point, Streep hadn't quite mastered the art of asking for more pay. But this time, she spoke up. "The offer was to my mind slightly, if not insulting, not perhaps reflective of my actual value to the project," she explained to Variety. "There was my 'goodbye moment,' and then they doubled the offer. I was 55, and I had just learned, at a very late date, how to deal on my own behalf."

9. She had other demands as well. Cautious about turning Miranda into a caricature, Streep insisted on two scenes: What she called "the business of fashion," in which the trendsetter schooled Andy on her cerulean sweater, and "a scene where she is without her armor, the unpeeled scene in the hotel room." 

The white hair was her creation as well, Streep turning up with her icy locks for a sit-down with the head of the studio. As director Frankel recalled to EW, "Meryl channeled Miranda in that meeting, and there was no conversation about the hair; they looked into Meryl's eyes and never said a word."