 Streep is well known for her ability to imitate a wide range of accents , from Danish in Out of Africa ( 1985 ) to English received pronunciation in Plenty ( 1985 ) , The French Lieutenant 's Woman ( 1981 ) , and The Iron Lady ( 2011 ) ; Italian in The Bridges of Madison County ( 1995 ) ; a Minnesota accent in A Prairie Home Companion ( 2006 ) ; Irish @-@ American in Ironweed ; and a heavy Bronx accent in Doubt . Streep has stated that she grew up listening to artists such as Barbra Streisand , The Beatles and Bob Dylan , and she learned a lot about how to use her voice , her " instrument , " by listening to Barbra Streisand 's albums . In the 1988 film Evil Angels , in which she portrays a New Zealand transplant to Australia , Streep perfected a hybrid of Australian & New Zealand English . Her performance received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role , as well as Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival , and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress . 
