Meryl Streep Wants To Trademark Her Own Name

Meryl Streep has applied to trademark her own name to prevent anyone from misusing or exploiting it. The application was filed to the US Trademark Office on 22 January.

The BBC reports that, if she's successful, then the action would stop her name being used in "live, televised, and movie appearances" as well as "speaking engagements" and "autograph signings". It would also protect it from unauthorised commercial use.

The famed actress joins a number of high-profile names to have trademarked their monikers, but - aged 68 - she is further along in her career than most who have done so. The Beckhams, Taylor Swift and 50 Cent have also sought legal means to stop the misuse of their names.

Meryl isn't actually Streep's real name. She was born Mary Louise after her mother and grandmother, but her father gave her the nickname Meryl, which she didn't warm to as a child.

“I hated it,” Streep said on The Graham Norton Show in 2015. “I wanted to be named Patty or Cathy. But I had glasses, and my name was Meryl, and [my last name] had a ‘p’ on the end. It should have been ‘Street.’ [I always thought], ‘Why didn’t they just put a ‘t’ on the end instead of ‘p’?’”

This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR UK. 

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