In celebration of Meryl Streep and the inevitable Academy Award nomination she will receive for portraying Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, NOWNESS teamed up with photographer Brigitte Lacombe, who's been shooting La Streep for 31 years, to present a series of rare behind-the-scenes photographs of the actress .

Since being introduced by Dustin Hoffman on the set of Kramer vs. Kramer -- for which both Hoffman and Streep won their first Oscars --  Lacombe and Streep have been good friends. And it is because of this relationship that Meryl feels so comfortable and at ease with Brigitte behind the lens.

"Out of all the actors I know she is the most reluctant to be photographed," Lacombe tells NOWNESS. "I think because it's me and she trusts me, she sees the photography now as an extension of our friendship...She's the only actress I know who really has no genuine interest or pleasure in looking at herself. She's interested in the work she's doing, and after that she just wants to live her life, unobserved."

Check out NOWNESS for more images and the rest of the interview with Brigitte Lacombe.