Meryl Streep recalls moment she was rejected for major Hollywood role for being 'ugly'

Rejection is, unfortunately, a natural part of life. Even if you're Hollywood megastar Meryl Streep.

She may be known as the greatest actress of her generation, but she's also had her fair share of knock-backs to get there.

The 75-year-old has racked up a record 21 Oscar award nominations over her impressive career.

Notable films include The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady.

But as a young girl, Streep was brutally turned down for a film role for being 'ugly.'

Meryl Streep, pictured here age 40, said she was a 'young girl' when she was turned down for the role (RENATO ROTOLO/AFP via Getty Images)

The Only Murders in the Building star recalled the story during a Graham Norton interview back in 2015. She missed out on starring in 1976's King Kong, with American Horror Story's Jessica Lange being cast in the lead role instead.

Meryl told Norton that she had caught the attention of film director Dino De Laurentiis' son when she was performing in a play.

He invited her to meet his dad, as a starry-eyed Meryl remembered: “He had this amazing office that looked all over Manhattan I walked in and his son was sitting there, very excited that he’d brought in this new actress.

"And the father said to his son in Italian, because I understand Italian, he said, ‘che brutta’, you know, ‘why do you bring me this ugly thing?’"

Streep described the experience as 'sobering,' but was sure to deliver the ultimate comeback.

Meryl Streep has been dubbed 'the best actress of her generation' (Arturo Holmes/WireImage)

Responding in Italian, she told the director: "I understand what you’re saying, I’m sorry I’m not beautiful enough to be in King Kong."

It's safe to say missing out on the role didn't exactly hinder Streep's career.

Four years after King Kong's release, she went on to win her first Academy Award for playing troubled wife Joanne in Kramer vs. Kramer.

She's won a further two Oscars since: the Academy Award for Best Actress for Sophie's Choice in 1983 and again in 2012 for portraying former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

The star has previously spoken out about feeling 'too ugly' to be an actress. She told students at Indiana University Bloomington in 2014: "I was always in plays, but I thought it was vain to be an actress. Plus, I thought I was too ugly to be an actress. Glasses weren’t fabulous then."

The star began her professional career in theatre as a 26-year-old before she began auditioning for film roles.

Streep landed her first feature film role in the 1977 film Julia, before landing her first Oscar nomination two years later in The Deer Hunter.