As Meryl Streep, now 67, was on the cusp of success, she was rocked by personal heartbreak — her fiancé, John Cazale, died of lung cancer in 1978.
He was just 42.
John — Fredo Corleone in the first two Godfather flicks — was ravaged by the disease while filming 1978’s The Deer Hunter with Meryl.
Sadly, he died in her arms before the flick’s release.
Sources say Meryl “went to pieces” but was pulled through the tragedy by sculptor Don Gummer. The couple, who is still together, wed six months later — and she won the first of her three Oscars in 1980!
Find out more about Meryl Streep’s tragic romance in this week’s issue of GLOBE.
