Carey Mulligan Talks About Being a New Mom, Thanks Meryl Streep for Having Her Back

Actress gave birth to daughter Evelyn five weeks ago

By Marc Malkin Oct 20, 2015 12:00 PMTags
Meryl Streep, Carey MulliganMichael Kovac/Getty Images

Carey Mulligan is not only busy promoting her new movie Suffragette, but she's doing it while caring for a newborn baby.

The Oscar nominee gave birth to her and husband Marcus Mumford's daughter Evelyn just five weeks ago.

"The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful," Mulligan said with a laugh last night at Elle's Women in Hollywood event, where she was among the evening's eight honorees. "Doing press and doing it with a tiny baby, timing has been very important and babies do what they want, which is a challenge. But it's really helpful when you have Meryl Streep backstage at events shouting at people on your behalf—telling them to  hurry the hell up because you have a nursing mother here."

Mulligan and Streep co-star in Suffragette, which tells the story of the British women's suffrage movement of the late 19th and 20th century.

Streep was on hand to present Mulligan with her Elle award.

"This is a massive pinch-me moment," Mulligan said. "I think it's safe to say that there's not a woman here tonight who doesn't hold you in the absolute highest esteem."

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Streep recalled first watching Mulligan in An Education and then Shame.

"I'm in awe of your talent," the acting legend said. "I really am. I'm also in awe of your voice, which…is like warm caramel poured over the English language. I applaud your taste in material and how you hold out for stuff. Even when you were young and didn't have any money, you just did things that mattered."

She went onto say, "I can't wait to see what Carey Mulligan will give us next, what new woman she'll give birth to. I mean, in addition to the very beautiful and sweet smelling Evy Grace."

Mulligan said she has always "set out to find the most interesting roles to me—big or small and on the whole that meant playing a really great female role in a story about a man."

"Working with [director] Sarah Gavron, [writer] Abi Morgan and Meryl Streep, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne-Marie Duff in Suffragette, I found myself in a new position," she said. "We were all playing really great female roles in a story about a woman. And more than that, we had the privilege to be the ones to finally tell the story of how women fought for and won their right to vote."

Also honored at the 22nd annual celebration were Kate Winslet, Amy Schumer, Salma Hayek, The Danish Girl star Alicia Vikander and Salma director Ava DuVernay. Dakota Johnson received the Calvin Klein Spotlight Award and Gena Rowlands was honored with the L'Oréal Paris Legend Award.

Hosted by Joel McHale, Women in Hollywood was co-sponsored by jewelry house David Yurman. Presenters and guests included Lena Dunham, Leslie Mann, Zoe Saldana, Mary J. Blige, Tracee Ellis Ross, Julianne Hough, Nina Dobrev, Katie Lowes, America Ferrera, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, Nikki Reed, Ahna O'Reilly and Jamie King.

We'll have more from the event later on here at E! Online and on E! News tonight at 7 and 11.