The surprising relationship between Mark Ronson and Meryl Streep, explained
At the 2024 Grammys, one appearance was wholly unexpected: that of the legendary actress Meryl Streep, who joined the awards ceremony in a surprise move that turned out to be family-motivated.
During host Trevor Noah’s opening monologue, the cameras panned over to an empty chair at a table with music producer Mark Ronson and his wife, Grace Gummer. After a few moments, Streep arrived to take her seat, to applause and cheers from the audience.
For those who were unaware of Streep’s surprising connection to Ronson (who was nominated for his production work on the soundtrack to Barbie), Noah informed viewers that Streep is actually his mother-in-law. "Look at this, Mark Ronson, one of the greatest producers of all time," the comedian said. "Get this, his mother-in-law is going to be sitting right here. You know who she is? Meryl Streep, that’s right. She’s going to be in this chair. I can’t believe that Meryl Streep is here."
As Noah continued his monologue, the star of The Devil Wears Prada suddenly appeared and ran over to her chair. "You thought I was lying!" Noah laughed, while both Ronson and the crowd erupted in applause.
Ronson has been married to Streep's second-eldest daughter, Grace Gummer, for more than two years; the couple also welcomed their first child together, a daughter called Ruthie, in early 2023. "[She] just had the baby. She's two and a half months now,' Ronson's sister, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, told People in March 2023. "She’s stunning."
On the Grammys red carpet, Ronson revealed that his daughter had inspired "a lot" of his recent music. "I’ve always just been someone who’s stayed in the studio all the time," he said. "And now it’s like, there’s no song or idea more important than bath time and getting home. That I love. We have a one-year-old daughter, me and my wife, so maybe we’ll party a little tonight."
Streep and Ronson took to the stage together later in the evening to present the Record of the Year award to Miley Cyrus for her hit single Flowers – although Streep appeared to be a little confused about what she was actually presenting. At first, she referred to it as the Album of the Year award, before her son-in-law corrected her, pointing out that the category celebrates a single song, not an entire album.
The actress then questioned why there was a separate Song of the Year category, prompting Ronson to explain that Song of the Year and Record of the Year recognise two different things: the first honours songwriters, while the second celebrates performing artists, producers and engineers.
"That’s the one you lost," Streep said to Ronson (he was nominated for Song of the Year for Dua Lipa’s Dance the Night), to which he jokingly responded "Yeah, thank you!" before letting his mother-in-law give him a kiss on the cheek.
Streep and Ronson's sweet double act wasn't the only moment of note at this year's Grammys: Taylor Swift broke records (and announced a new album), while Blue Ivy made an appearance with her parents, Beyoncé and Jay Z. See our best-dressed of the night here, plus the hair and make-up looks we loved the most.
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