Cover image: Devil Wears Prada 2 official Movie Clip
TL;DR
- Meryl Streep revealed she turned down the original Devil Wears Prada offer – then doubled her ask
- She was 56 when she realised she had the power to do this
- Women consistently leave money on the table by accepting first offers
- Here’s what her story unlocks about how to negotiate your salary
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is out this week. Everyone’s talking about Miranda Priestly’s return, the fashion, the drama. But the story we can’t stop thinking about isn’t even in the film.
Doing press for the sequel, Meryl Streep revealed something about the original Devil Wears Prada (2006) that stopped us in our tracks. She originally turned the role down. She’d read the script and knew it was going to be a hit, but she said no anyway – because she wanted to see what would happen if she doubled her ask.
They said yes immediately.
“I’m 56 years old,” she said on the Today show. “It took me this long to understand that I could do that.”
Read that again.
Why confidence has nothing to do with it
If Meryl Streep – three Oscar wins, one of the most celebrated actresses alive – spent 56 years not realising she was allowed to ask for more, what does that say about the rest of us?
We’re conditioned from early on to treat a first offer as a final one, to feel grateful for what’s on the table and to worry that pushing back means the whole thing falls apart. Most of us never give ourselves permission to find out.
But Meryl’s story shows the opposite – she was genuinely ready to walk away. “If they didn’t want to do that, I was okay. I was ready to retire,” she said. That was her edge – detachment. And it created space for a yes that doubled her pay.
So what does this mean for your salary?
The gender pay gap is well-documented. But part of it isn’t only systemic – there’s a negotiation gap sitting inside it too. Women are less likely to push back on a first offer, and when they do, they typically ask for less than men do.
Every salary you don’t negotiate compounds. If you’re 25 and accept £28,000 when you could have asked for £31,000, and get standard raises from there – that gap follows you through your entire career. It affects your pension contributions, your NI record, your sinking funds, your net worth.
One conversation leads to years of impact.
The actual negotiation lessons
You don’t need to be Meryl Streep (or Miranda Priestly) to use what she did. A few things worth holding onto:
The first offer is rarely the final one. Companies build negotiation room into salary bands. They expect a counter. When you don’t give one, that breathing room stays with them.
“No” isn’t the end – it’s often the beginning. Meryl said no, and they came back with double. A counter-offer isn’t a rejection, it’s the start of the real conversation.
You don’t need to justify wanting more. She didn’t explain herself or apologise – she made her ask and waited.
Ready to negotiate your salary?
We’ve put together a full guide to negotiating – your pay, your bills, your freelance rates – including exact scripts you can use word for word.
Meryl Streep had to wait until she was 56 to give herself permission, but you don’t have to wait that long.
The content produced by Financielle is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.