EntertainmentHillary ClintondncDNC 2016

Meryl Streep Delivers Speech Full Of 'Grit And Grace' For Hillary Clinton

“We got some fight left in us, don’t we?”
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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Actress Meryl Streep addresses the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
SAUL LOEB via Getty Images

Meryl Streep delivered a fiery speech on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention. 

Wrapped in a patriot flag dress designed by Betsy Ross Catherine Malandrino, the actress praised the first woman ever to top a major party’s ticket for the White House. Streep began the speech with a yell and double-fist pumps, clearly feeling the emotion on the historic night. 

“We got some fight left in us, don’t we?” Streep said to roaring applause. “What does it take to be the first female anything? It takes grit and it takes grace.”

“Hillary Clinton has taken some fire over 40 years of her fight for families and children,” Streep continued. “How does she do it? That’s what I want to know. Where does she get her grit and her grace? Where do any of our female firsts, our path breakers, where do they find that strength?”

Streep also spoke eloquently about the female trailblazers who have come before Clinton “with a burning passion for their cause,” rattling off a list of powerful women that included Deborah Sampson, Sandra Day O’Conner, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman and many more. 

“You people have made history,” the actress said. “And you’re gonna make history again in November, because Hillary Clinton will be our first woman president. She will be a great president and she will be the first in a long line of women ― and men ― who serve with grit and grace. She’ll be the first but she won’t be the last.”

Watch the rest of Streep’s speech below.

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Before You Go

Latino Celebrities Explain Why They're With Hillary Clinton
America Ferrera(01 of11)
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The "Superstore" star wrote a blog post for The Huffington Post in April explaining why Clinton has long been her “kind of badass” and the kind of woman she’d like to share a bottle of wine. “Even before the Latino vote was crucial to elections, Hillary held the first ever White House convening on Hispanic youth as first lady," she wrote. "She’s fought for early childhood education so that a kid like me, growing up in the public school system, doesn’t fall behind before she even gets the chance to begin. She’s defended school lunch programs so that a kid like me, dependent on those programs for her mid-day meal, doesn’t sit distracted by hunger pangs as she tries to focus on her math problems." (credit:David Livingston via Getty Images)
Ricky Martin(02 of11)
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The Puerto Rican singer threw his support behind Clinton in December. "Our community has been continuously attacked by Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates," Martin told BuzzFeed. "A few months ago I raised my voice against Trump's hateful rhetoric and standing with me was Hillary Clinton. Time after time, Hillary has shown her commitment to the Latino community and that is why I'm proud to support her and to stand with her because ella está con nosotros y nuestras familias (because she is with us and our families)." At Clinton’s “She’s With US” fundraiser concert in June, Martin said he believed “Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United States.” (credit:Jason LaVeris via Getty Images)
Dascha Polanco(03 of11)
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The Clinton campaign released a video in October which starred “Orange Is The New Black” actresses Uzo Aduba and Dascha Polanco who broke down why they’re throwing their support behind the Democratic candidate. "She's been in politics since before we were born," Polanco explained in Spanish. "She has experience. She is somebody who not only was a senator and secretary of state, but she's also a woman, a mother and a wife.” Polanco went on to encourage viewers to get informed and vote, “because it’s necessary.” (credit:Mike Pont via Getty Images)
Salma Hayek(04 of11)
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Salma Hayek is as vocal about her support for Clinton as she is about her distaste for Donald Trump. In October, the Mexican actress officially joined the “Latinos for Clinton” initiative, and also during that fall she told Latina Magazine she had a lot of hope for Clinton. “We need somebody with experience who can endure it all,” she explained. “Hillary is tough.” More recently, Hayek praised Clinton’s “grace” and potential in an interview with The Daily Beast in April. “She is levelheaded. She is kind. She has a heart. She’s human. She’s smart. But nothing brings her down. They’ve been trying to put this woman down for 30 years. She’s indestructible. She gets up with grace. And she gets things done with grace -- not bullying,” she told the digital publication in April. “And the thing is, she doesn’t oversell a fantastic dream,” added Hayek. “I think she tells you what she thinks can be done, and I think she will surprise us by doing much more than that. I think the things she’s saying aren’t only to catch votes. Everyone else is trying to catch the votes.” (credit:David M. Benett via Getty Images)
John Leguizamo(05 of11)
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John Leguizamo has long tweeted his support for Clinton. The actor often shows his support for Clinton on Twitter, retweeting her campaign and sharing articles written about her. In June, Leguizamo used the hashtag #ImWithHer to break down the many reasons, ranging from immigration to women’s health for why Clinton’s got his vote. "#ImWithHer #14. She created an office on violence against women at the department of justice 15. She worked to investigate gulf war disease," he tweeted at the time. (credit:Noam Galai via Getty Images)
Rosie Perez(06 of11)
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Puerto Rican actress and activist Rosie Perez thinks Clinton has put in her time and is ready for office. “I am with her because she has the record,” Perez shared in a video interview with NBC Latino. “She was secretary of state. She was a senator. She was first lady. She is a woman. She is a mother. And she is a grandmother. And she has the empathy to understand what people who do not have what they should have in this country are going through.” Perez also cited Clinton’s positions on immigration reform, equal pay for women and college tuition reform as reasons why she is with the former secretary of state. (credit:Desiree Navarro via Getty Images)
Demi Lovato(07 of11)
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Singer Demi Lovato expressed her confidence in Clinton during a campaign rally held at the University of Iowa in January. "I don’t think there is a woman more confident than Hillary Clinton,” Lovato told the cheering crowd. "I am voting for her because of her beliefs, her strength and the fact that she completely embodies the concept of women empowerment.” (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Gina Rodriguez(08 of11)
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In a video published by Clinton's campaign in February, Golden Globe-winner Gina Rodriguez explained she is with her "because she is fighting for immigration reform and fighting to keep our families together -- and that is the reason why, Latinos, we need to vote." The "Jane the Virgin" star was joined by 16 other female celebrities, including Lena Dunham, Shonda Rhimes, Constance Wu and Uzo Aduba, among others. (credit:Gregg DeGuire via Getty Images)
Constance Marie(09 of11)
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Constance Marie has a political crush on Clinton. The actress tweeted her support for Clinton using the hashtag #WCW (woman crush Wednesday), in May. “She is strong, She is smart, She is a fighter. I like Bernie but #ImWithHer#Unite#StopTrump,” Marie shared with her followers. (credit:David Livingston via Getty Images)
Michelle Rodriguez(10 of11)
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Michelle Rodriguez has said her “[first] time vote” is going to Clinton because “she's a fighter.” In March, Michelle Rodriguez shared her intention to vote for Clinton on Instagram, citing an address the then-first lady gave at the United Nations in Beijing. “[Her] words were powerful, and she didn't hold back,” Rodriguez wrote in the caption of the post. “After that moment women were recognized and regarded by the U.N. for the 1st time in its history as humans deserving of #HumanRights. It was her weight as 1st lady going all the way to China, risking international relations in the name of justice. Women from all over the world united for the 1st time ever at this scale in Beijing that year. South American, African, Middle Eastern, Chinese... I watched all of these women look to Hillary for Hope. I believe that her presence and the speech she gave as 1st lady carried a weight to it and affected the decisions made by all those male officials from UN when dealing with human rights & women. That's how I know she's a fighter. I like that virtue over everything else. So, I'm taking the leap of faith in the most sane candidate out of all of ‘em. #madeforhistory." (credit:ANTHONY WALLACE via Getty Images)
Eva Longoria(11 of11)
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Longoria has spoken out in support of Clinton on numerous occasions. “I stand with Hillary because I'm a Latina,” explained actress Eva Longoria during Clinton’s fundraising concert, held ahead of California’s primaries in June. “We care deeply about policies that disproportionately affect our community and one of those issues is immigration reform. We are tired of being synonymous with illegal, synonymous with not from here. We're part of the thread that makes the United States of America.” (credit:Kevin Winter via Getty Images)
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