Louisa Jacobson, Meryl Streep’s daughter, has spoken about the experience of coming out as a lesbian after publicly sharing her sexuality.
The 33-year-old The Gilded Age actress discussed her coming-out journey in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com at the Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Greater New York Dinner.
Jacobson said she did not wait long to share the news publicly, coming out on June 22, 2024—her mother’s 75th birthday.
She said Streep has been “so supportive.”
Jacobson added that she has also found encouragement within the entertainment industry.
“Luckily, the community is a very accepting one, and I haven’t run into any issues with regard to casting yet. So we’ll see,” she told DailyMail.com.
Louisa Jacobson spoke exclusively with DailyMail.com at the Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Greater New York Dinner on February 1
Jacobson said her mother, Meryl Streep, has been “so supportive” since she came out as a lesbian
She said the most significant change since coming out has involved her relationship with femininity.
“I think the biggest change is actually how it’s affected my relationship with my femininity,” she explained. “We’re in a very exciting time when femininity is being redefined by artists and people in the fashion industry.”
“It has brought a lot more possibility to my expression of self and my life than I thought. It’s so much more than simply the fact that I’m dating a woman.
“My whole identity and entire self-expression have expanded.”
Jacobson’s coming-out announcement featured several photos with her partner, producer Anna Blundell.
“Blessed to be entering the Joyful New Era bb,” she wrote in the caption, adding heart and rainbow flag emojis.
Before her relationship with Blundell, Jacobson dated actor Jonathan Higginbotham, whom she met at the Yale School of Drama, in 2022.
Streep, meanwhile, was married to Don Gummer for 45 years before the couple announced their separation in October 2023.
Jacobson publicly came out with producer Anna Blundell in a June 2024 post featuring a red heart and Pride flag emoji
Jacobson’s girlfriend Anna attended the HRC Dinner and helped her prepare her speech
In her speech, Jacobson thanked actresses including Kristen Stewart and Cynthia Erivo for helping her find the courage to come out
The couple said at the time that they had been separated “for more than six years” after choosing to live “lives apart.”
Streep and Gummer married in 1978 and share four children: Henry Wolfe, 45, Mamie Gummer, 41, Grace Gummer, 38, and Louisa.
Blundell joined Jacobson at the HRC Dinner, held at the New York Marriott Marquis on February 1.
“Anna’s here tonight. She’s just really proud of me,” Jacobson said. Speaking about receiving the Visibility Award, she added, “It’s so special. It’s such an honor.”
During the ceremony, Jacobson accepted the award and delivered a speech she said Blundell had helped her prepare.
“Shame buries me so far into my own head that I forget what an immense privilege it is to even stand on this stage and feel safe doing so,” she told the audience.
She went on to explain that she came out to friends and family “two years ago,” but did not make her sexuality public until “seven months ago.”
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Jacobson said she first realized she was queer when she wanted to become intimate with a friend rather than simply “be her.”
Jacobson said she came out to friends and family “two years ago”; she is pictured with Streep in 2009
“Aside from some anxiety, I felt relatively comfortable stepping into my truth, which is amazing. It’s amazing that I felt that comfortable.
“That is partly because I was lucky enough to grow up in a liberal family surrounded by artists who never wavered in their self-expression,” she said.
“I also work in an industry where many artists openly identify as LGBTQ+.”
She also credited New York City, describing it as being “in the midst of a movement in art and fashion led by a vanguard of women and non-binary people who are redefining femininity—adding shapes, textures and colors to what it looks like and means to be a woman.”
Jacobson used her speech to recognize actresses who helped pave the way and gave her the courage to be “brave.” Her list included Cynthia Nixon, Kristen Stewart, Sarah Paulson and Cynthia Erivo.
She also explored how people can remain vulnerable while living visibly.
“As an actor, I’ve learned that the most powerful performances happen when the actor allows themselves to be revelatory—when they drop the mask and stand in the raw truth of who they are.
“It’s the same in life. The moments when we drop the mask and allow ourselves to be seen are the moments when we truly connect with others.
Jacobson said she felt comfortable speaking openly because she was raised in a liberal family; pictured are Henry, Mamie, Meryl, Grace and Louisa in December 2023
“Moreover, what we do with that vulnerability determines whether or not we move forward as a society.”
Jacobson earned an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama and is best known for playing Marian Brook in HBO’s period drama series The Gilded Age.
She ended her speech by saying, “Visibility is the antidote to shame. Visibility says that you are enough as you are. So here I am, standing in front of you, and I am enough as I am.”
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization in the United States.
More than 1,000 LGBTQ+ advocates and supporters from across the country attended the HRC Greater New York Dinner.
The event featured remarks from HRC President Kelley Robinson, Agatha All Along actor Joe Locke, social media personality RaeShanda Lias and U.S. Congresswoman Sarah McBride.
Ashlyn Harris and Sophia Bush were among the guests at the HRC Greater New York Dinner on February 1
The couple walked the red carpet together and shared laughs during the evening
Harris and Bush took the stage to introduce U.S. Congresswoman Sarah McBride
Other notable attendees included Sophia Bush and her partner Ashlyn Harris, comedian Dana Goldberg, singer David Archuleta and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.
Bush, 42, and Harris, 39, appeared together onstage to introduce McBride.
Harris began by saying, “I use she/her pronouns,” while Bush added, “My name is Sophia Bush and, given the last 11 days, I just want to confirm no relation. I also use she/her pronouns.”
The former professional soccer player then told the audience that they were “HRC’s newest board members,” adding that it was “very exciting for both of us.”
The One Tree Hill star and Harris began dating in 2023. Bush confirmed their relationship and publicly came out as queer in a Glamour cover story published in April 2024.
