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Louisa Jacobson is opening up about one of her biggest childhood disappointments
In a conversation with the Wall Street Journal, the Gilded Age star shared that she was “furious” when her parents, Meryl Streep and Don Gummer, moved their family from the Berkshires to New York City
“I was furious about relocating to a place with few trees,” Jacobson said of the move, which took place when she was 9 years old
Louisa Jacobson is opening up about one of her biggest childhood disappointments — and it was thanks to her mom Meryl Streep.
In a conversation with the Wall Street Journal published on Thursday, Aug. 7, the Gilded Age actress, 34, spoke about her artistic and free-spirited childhood growing up in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, alongside Streep; her dad, Don Gummer; and her siblings Henry, 45, Mamie, 42, and Grace, 39.
According to Jacobson, she found out at around 9 years old that her family would be leaving their idyllic countryside home for New York City, where Streep and Gummer purchased a $2.1 million Greenwich Village townhome in 1995 (the family later sold it for $9.1 million, per 6sqft).
“I was furious about relocating to a place with few trees,” Jacobson said of the move. “I drew in my journal pictures of a skyline with a big circle and a slash through it. My parents understood, validated my feelings and then we moved to New York, into a townhouse.”
HBO
Louisa Jacobson in ‘The Gilded Age.’
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Jacobson first recalled moving from Los Angeles to New England at just under 2 years old. There the family occupied a contemporary home that was full of art and antique furniture.
“Modernism and classical vibes were all mixed together. We lived in the country, so there was plenty of room to run around and play. That let my imagination run free,” the Materialists actress shared.
“Imaginary play was encouraged at home growing up,” she told the outlet. “My dad, Don Gummer, is a brilliant sculptor and artist, and my mom, Meryl Streep, is an incredible actress. Both of my parents were driven and dedicated to their crafts. They prioritized the arts and took them seriously as a vocation, which for me was a gift.”
According to the star, she still pays tribute to her family’s artistic background at her own home.
“Dad’s art is all over my walls—his paintings, encaustics, watercolors and drawings. I even have pieces he made in art school and some work from the 1960s,” she said, before opening up about the advice her mother gave her when she was starting out as a performer.
“Mom once gave me terrific advice about honoring the truth as an actress. She said, ‘A lot of acting is a great, deep belief—like religious faith—in what you are doing and in the character you’re playing,'” Jacobson added. “Those words are still with me.”
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Meryl Streep and Louisa Jacobson in 2024.
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Streep and Gummer (whom she split from around 2017) have since left that Greenwich Village home behind. In 2019, the three-time Oscar winner put her New York penthouse up for sale for $18,250,000. The home was previously listed for $24.6 million.
Located in TriBeCa, the impressive spread took up an entire floor of the River Lofts condo building. Thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows, it includes breathtaking views of multiple NYC landmarks, including the Hudson River, New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, One World Trade Center and the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, according to its Sotheby’s listing.
After selling that home, Streep and Gummer relocated to California in 2013, purchasing a $3.6 million home in Pasadena. The midcentury home features 3,087 sq. ft. of living space along with terrazzo and wood flooring, skylights and large windows. The property hadn’t changed hands for 50 years before it was purchased in 2017, per House Beautiful.
Read the original article on People
