Meryl Streep will portray legendary folk singer Joni Mitchell in a forthcoming biopic directed by Cameron Crowe. The casting was confirmed by record producer Clive Davis at his pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles. Anya Taylor-Joy is rumored to play the younger Mitchell.
The announcement came on February 1 at Clive Davis's annual pre-Grammy Awards party in Los Angeles, as reported by Rolling Stone. Streep, a three-time Academy Award winner, had been linked to the role since 2024, marking the first official confirmation of her involvement.
Cameron Crowe, known for directing Almost Famous, is helming the project after collaborating closely with Mitchell for four years. In October 2025, Crowe discussed the film on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, stating, “We have regular meetings where I can ask her anything and she speaks with her heart about all kinds of stuff. It’s a movie that will be not from a distance. This is from her perspective, her life, looking out.”
Crowe and Mitchell, longtime friends, have met weekly to delve into her life and work. Reflecting on the process in an interview with the New York Times, Crowe shared how the idea originated: "I actually had a dream of a structure of how to tell that story. So I called her place and told her right-hand person that I'd had this dream, and if somebody comes knocking, come to me first and I'll tell you this idea and we'll see what happens. She's like, 'They're knocking all the time, and Joni wonders why you've taken so long to call. So yes, come over and tell us what your idea is.'"
He described the collaboration as transformative: “It's been incredibly inspiring - the most I've interviewed anybody, the deepest-tissue kind of conversations I've had with any artist, and I've found it invigorating and can't wait to make the movie.”
Meanwhile, The Queen's Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy is rumored to portray a younger version of Mitchell, though no official word has been released on that front.
