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Who really said it

The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy

Attributed to Meryl Streep b. 1949 · American actress
Attributed In copyright

Widely and consistently credited to Meryl Streep, and consistent with her lifelong framing of empathy as the heart of acting. A curated empathy-quotes reference traces it to a May 1991 Cosmopolitan interview with Michael Segell, where it appears in fuller form — but the primary magazine could not be independently examined, so we mark it attributed rather than verified.

Last verified 16 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

For presentations

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Unconfirmed quote & credit

“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy” Meryl Streep, interview in Cosmopolitan (May 1991)

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Meryl Streep; Hearst Communications (Cosmopolitan)). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

Image direction — grounded in this quote’s real context; paste into your image tool

In context

Evoking the world of Meryl Streep — American actress. Theme: "The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

Where the line comes from

Speaker
Meryl Streep
Documented in
‘Culture of Empathy’ reference, citing Cosmopolitan, May 1991 (interview by Michael Segell)
Context
On why she is drawn to play so many different women
Attestation
Circulates as a source-free one-liner; the fuller wording is documented

The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other. I like to investigate these different women to see what the commonality is with me. When I get the script and read their story, I hear the ‘ping!’ that makes a connection with my own life. On choosing her roles

The viral quote stops at “…connection to each other.” The rest shows it was a remark about Streep’s acting process, not a free-standing aphorism.

Culture of Empathy Builder: Meryl Streep

What we checked

  • A curated empathy-quotes reference records the line under “1991-05 — Cosmo,” as Streep speaking to Michael Segell, and preserves the fuller “‘ping!’” continuation (Culture of Empathy).
  • On Goodreads the fuller “mysterious connection” wording appears, attributed to Streep with the standard disclaimer that community quotes are “not verified.”
  • The theme is unmistakably hers: in her 2010 Barnard commencement address she calls empathy “the heart of the actor’s art” — but that speech does not contain this exact line.
In copyright

The words are Streep’s, documented in a 1991 Cosmopolitan interview — well after 1931 — so the remark is in copyright as her spoken statement within a copyrighted magazine interview. Rights rest with Streep as speaker and Hearst as publisher of the interview.

Fact-check

The catch: it’s real, but truncated

Unlike most quotes pinned on famous names, this one does appear to be genuinely Streep’s. The problem is how it travels: stripped of any source and cut off mid-thought.

Meryl Streep truncated

Quote sites end it at “…the power of empathy” or “…connection to each other,” turning a working actor’s comment about choosing roles into a stand-alone inspirational slogan. The documented remark continues into the “‘ping!’” she feels reading a script (Culture of Empathy).

Quote aggregators no source

Goodreads, Good News Network and others print the line with no date, publication or interviewer — which is why it is often mistaken for a line from a speech she never used it in.

Her 2010 Barnard speech not the source

Because that address made empathy famous as her theme, the quote is sometimes assumed to come from it. It does not: the full transcript contains no such line.

The thought is authentically Streep’s — documented in a 1991 Cosmopolitan interview — but the internet’s version is a source-free half of a longer sentence about her acting process.

Context

Why the line rings true

Streep has spent decades describing acting as an act of empathy rather than imitation. In the 1991 remark the phrase belongs to a practical thought: she is explaining that she seeks out very different women because she can sense a “commonality” with each — the “ping” of recognition when she reads a script.

That is why the quote survives detached from its source: it distills a genuine, repeated conviction. Nearly two decades later she told Barnard’s graduating class that “empathy is at the heart of the actor’s art,” the same idea in different words.

Empathy is at the heart of the actor’s art. — Streep, Barnard, 2010

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Kindness Love

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Culture of Empathy Builder: Meryl Streepcultureofempathy.com

Curated reference recording the line under “1991-05 — Cosmo” with the fuller ‘ping!’ context
Quote page (fuller wording)goodreads.com

Community quote entry with the “mysterious connection” continuation and a “not verified” disclaimer
Streep’s 2010 Barnard commencement speechapps.npr.org

NPR’s archive of the address where she calls empathy the heart of the actor’s art
Barnard 2010 full transcriptsingjupost.com

Complete transcript confirming the exact one-liner is not from this speech
Meryl Streep quotesbrainyquote.com

Typical aggregator listing that circulates the truncated, source-free version
Meryl Streep and the Power of Empathy at Workpsychologytoday.com

Essay on Streep’s empathy theme (quotes a different, Golden Globes line — useful context)

About the speaker

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep

b. 1949 · American actress

Meryl Streep (b. 1949) is among the most acclaimed screen actors in history, a record-holder for Academy Award nominations. She has returned again and again to empathy as the core of her craft — telling Barnard’s 2010 graduates that “empathy is at the heart of the actor’s art,” which makes this remark about the “power of empathy” entirely in character.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Meryl Streep, interview by Michael Segell, “Cosmopolitan,” May 1991, as documented in the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy ‘Culture of Empathy Builder: Meryl Streep’ reference.

MLA (9th ed.)

Streep, Meryl. Interview by Michael Segell. Cosmopolitan, May 1991.

APA (7th ed.)

Streep, M. (1991, May). [Interview by M. Segell]. Cosmopolitan.

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