Meryl Streep will be the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 74th Golden Globe Awards. The award is bestowed annually – a tradition that dates back to 1950 (Cecil B. DeMille was the first recipient) – that celebrates outstanding career achievements within the entertainment industry. Recent winners of the award include Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Woody Allen and Jodie Foster. This career achievement is decided by the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the governing body of the Golden Globe Awards..

In a statement, HFPA President Lorenzo Sorla commented:

It’s no surprise that the HFPA has chosen Meryl Streep as the recipient of the 2017 Cecil B. DeMille Award. Meryl’s enthralling body of work across a diverse set of genres has made her a role model over the past 40 years, and she will continue to do so for generations to come. She has always taken roles with strong female leads, creating art by showing vulnerability and portraying truth on the big screen. Simply put, she is a trailblazer, having paved the way for women in television, film and stage. For shattering gender and age barriers, all with finesse and grace, the HFPA is humbled to bestow this honor upon her.

The Golden Globes love Meryl Streep as the 3-time Oscar winning actress holds many distinctions from the awards body. More than any other performer, Streep has earned 29 Golden Globe nominations throughout her career and has won 8 statuettes (she’s second among winners to Barbra Streisand) – and she may yet be a Golden Globe nominee for her admired performance in this year’s Florence Foster Jenkins.

The 74th Golden Globe Awards will take place on January 8, 2017, with Jimmy Fallon serving as emcee. Nominations – for both film and television achievements – will be unveiled on December 12th.