Hallelujah! Meryl Streep wins her third Oscar!

It’s no secret that I have been fit to be tied that nearly 30 years had passed since the great Meryl Streep had won an Oscar.

After winning twice early in her career, Meryl had lost 14 straight times and in several cases against far lesser performances.

Her greatness seemed to be counted against her.

But not tonight!

At the 84th Annual Academy Awards, Miss Streep’s name was called as the winner in the best actress category for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

“I want to thank all my colleagues, all my friends. I see my life before my eyes,” said Streep. “My old friends, my new friends. Really, this is such a great honor. But the thing that counts the most with me is the friendship, and the love and the sheer joy we have shared making movies together.”

She also thanked her husband, Don Gummer, early in the speech for fear that if she left him to the end, the music would start to play her off. She said tearfully: “Everything I value most in our lives, you’ve given me.”

Meryl won her third Oscar on her 17th nomination – the most of any performer. The win put her in a category with other three-time Oscar winners Jack Nicholson, Walter Brennan and Ingrid Bergman. Only Katharine Hepburn with four wins had more.

Her previous wins came in 1980 for Kramer vs. Kramer (supporting actress) and in 1983 for Sophie’s Choice (best actress).

I had so convinced myself that Meryl would lose again and that Viola Davis would win that I’m still in a state of shock. I thought it should have happened for Julie & Julia, for Doubt, for Adaptation and for One True Thing.

But this win makes the long wait all the more sweet!

UPDATED: Backstage, Streep said: “I thought I was old and jaded. But when they call your name, you just go into a white light. … I felt like a kid again.”

She joked that when she last won, “two of the nominees weren’t even conceived yet.”