 In the 1978 miniseries Holocaust , Streep played the leading role of a German woman married to a Jewish artist in Nazi era Germany . She found the material to be " unrelentingly noble " and professed to have taken on the role for financial gain . Streep travelled to Germany and Austria for filming while Cazale remained in New York . Upon her return , Streep found that Cazale 's illness had progressed , and she nursed him until his death on March 12 , 1978 . With an estimated audience of 109 million , Holocaust brought a wider degree of public recognition to Streep , who found herself " on the verge of national visibility " . She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her performance . Despite the awards success , Streep was still not enthusiastic towards her film career and preferred acting on stage . 
