The Devil Wears Prada 2 actress Meryl Streep was moved to tears during a French television interview when she received a surprise video message from Jennifer Lawn Lejeune.
Lejeune played her daughter in the 1982 Holocaust drama Sophie’s Choice.
Appearing on Journal de 20 heures alongside Stanley Tucci to promote the highly anticipated sequel of Devil Wears Prada, Streep was handed a tablet by host Laurent Delahousse.
Her expression shifted from calm to stunned as she realized she was watching Lejeune, who portrayed Eva Zawistowska in Alan J. Pakula’s searing film.
Lejeune recalled the bond she shared with Streep on set in her own interview for 20 heures, saying, “I even told my mother that [Streep] was my favorite mother, because Meryl Streep was always nice to me and playing with me.”
Streep’s eyes welled with tears as she clutched her chest, asking, “That’s the child?”
When told it was indeed Lejeune, now living in Paris, she exclaimed, “Oh my God, that’s amazing.”
She thanked the host for what she called “a gift,” adding, “Journalists never give me gifts!”
Lejeune, who later married a French national and now works in finance, recalled the harrowing shoot of the film’s defining scene: Sophie’s devastating choice at Auschwitz.
Though expected to be filmed once, the moment was repeated 13 times, leaving the young actress convinced “it was the end of the world.”
She credited her bond with Streep for helping her tap into the raw emotion.
