Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the AFI (American Film Institute) Board of Trustees, announced Oct. 17 that Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep had been selected by the AFI's Board of Trustees to receive its Life Achievement Award. This is the highest honor given for a career in film.

Streep will be presented with her award at a gala tribute at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on June 10, 2004. The evening will be broadcast on the USA Network at a date to be announced. Bob Gazzale will executive produce the tribute evening.

In a statement AFI Chair Stringer said, "Meryl Streep is one of the great artists in the history of American film. Her talent, range and determination to master her craft bring out performances that sometimes border on the ethereal. In that sense, she is truly peerless. It is AFI's great honor to present its Life Achievement Award to this truly gifted actor."

Meryl Streep won Academy Awards for her performances in "Sophie's Choice" and "Kramer vs. Kramer." She was also Oscar-nominated for her work in "Adaptation," "Music of the Heart," "One True Thing," "The Bridges of Madison County," "Postcards from the Edge," "A Cry in the Dark," "Ironweed," "Out of Africa," "Silkwood," "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "The Deer Hunter." Streep received a Tony nomination for 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, and her other Broadway appearances include Happy End, The Cherry Orchard, Secret Service and Trelawny of the "Wells".

The AFI Life Achievement Award was established in Feb. 1973. It is presented each year to an honoree based on these criteria: "The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time." A complete list of recipients of the award follows: 1973 John Ford
1974 James Cagney
1975 Orson Welles
1976 William Wyler
1977 Bette Davis
1978 Henry Fonda
1979 Alfred Hitchcock
1980 James Stewart
1981 Fred Astaire
1982 Frank Capra
1983 John Huston
1984 Lillian Gish
1985 Gene Kelley
1986 Billy Wilder
1987 Barbara Stanwyck
1988 Jack Lemmon
1989 Gregory Peck
1990 Sir David Lean
1991 Kirk Douglas
1992 Sidney Poitier
1993 Elizabeth Taylor
1994 Jack Nicholson
1995 Steven Spielberg
1996 Clint Eastwood
1997 Martin Scorsese
1998 Robert Wise
1999 Dustin Hoffman
2000 Harrison Ford
2001 Barbara Streisand
2002 Tom Hanks
2003 Robert De Niro