Thank Meryl: Actress acknowledged more than God at Oscars

She may be the queen of the Oscars, with a staggering 18 nominations and three wins over a 35-year period, but Meryl Streep might be surprised to hear that she is also unsurpassed when it comes to being mentioned in acceptance speeches at the ceremony. A new survey by Slate magazine suggests that winners over the past dozen years have namechecked the star more times than they have thanked God.

84th Annual Academy Awards, Press Room, Los Angeles, America - 26 Feb 2012Streep topped the list of individual luminaries named during acceptance speeches, ahead of God, Sidney Poitier and Oprah Winfrey. She was thanked by four out of the 47 individual Oscar-winners since 2002, compared with three for the Almighty and two each for Poitier and Winfrey.

Not surprisingly, the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is high up on the list of those thanked, with 32 mentions. Directors are even more popular, with 42 mentions, while agents, producers and co-stars are also highly likely to get thank yous, with family members falling in just behind.

Spouses (25 mentions), children (21) and writers (19) are the next most likely to be thanked. Surprisingly, fellow nominees have only been thanked 17 times by the past 47 winners.

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