Meryl Streep wins BAFTA for turn as Thatcher

LONDON (Reuters) - Meryl Streep won the BAFTA award for best actress on Sunday for her powerful portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 'The Iron Lady,' gaining further momentum towards the most glittering prize of all at the Oscars on February 26.

Streep, who plays Thatcher both as a domineering politician in her prime and as an elderly woman suffering from memory loss, has already won a clutch of awards for the role including a Golden Globe.

This is Streep's second BAFTA for leading actressiculate, I love that people responded to. She previously won the 1981 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) leading actress award for 'The French Lieutenant's Woman.'

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon, editing by Paul Casciato)