Streep receives lifetime honour

. PHOTO: AFP

Streep's triumphs on-screen have ranged from powerful dramas such as Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie's Choice to comedies such as Death Becomes Her and, more recently, Adaptation.

Jim Carrey, Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine were among the stars who paid tribute to Streep, 54. 'From the bottom of my heart...I pity you,' said Nicholson. 'So perfect...Nobody's that perfect, right?'

The award has previously been awarded to Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Nicholson himself.

'I highly recommend having Meryl Streep play you,' said director and screenwriter Nora Ephron who cast Streep as Rachel Forman in Heartburn--a character based on Ephron herself. 'She plays all of us better than we play ourselves.'

Accepting the award at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, Streep returned Ephron's compliment: 'I wish I were her, I really do.'