According to TMZ, Meryl Streep just applied to trademark her name, presumably in hopes of preventing people from profiting off of her personal brand. Streep reportedly paid $275 for the application, which should cover her for the use of her name for “public speaking engagements, autograph signings, and websites related to motion pictures.” This could indicate that Streep is planning some kind of big marketing push, perhaps with a series of speaking engagements, autograph signings, and a motion picture-related website—Meryl.com seems to be available if she wants it.
It’s unclear if this may impact the general public, but much like how people refer to the major football event in February as “The Big Game,” we may need to establish a term that can refer to Streep without having to pay to use her name. Maybe “The Famous Hollywood Lady” would work? Or we could just also call her “The Big Game” as a nod to the fact that Meryl Streep is the Super Bowl of actors. Also, please don’t tell anyone we just said both “Meryl Streep” and “Super Bowl.”