Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan, born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra on November 19, 1961, is an American actress. Beginning her career in the early 1980s, she became widely recognized for playing quirky and charismatic characters, particularly in romantic comedies. Media outlets dubbed her "America's Sweetheart," and she developed into one of Hollywood's most bankable stars during the 1990s.

Ryan was born and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan Jordan, a former actress and English teacher, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. Raised Catholic, she attended St. Pius X Elementary School and graduated from Bethel High School in 1979. She studied journalism as an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut and New York University. While in college, she earned extra money acting in television commercials for products like Burger King and Aim toothpaste, as well as on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns. Her acting success led her to leave college a semester before graduating. Upon joining the Screen Actors Guild, she adopted the surname Ryan, her maternal grandmother's maiden name.

Ryan made her film debut in the 1981 drama Rich and Famous before playing Betsy Stewart on As the World Turns from 1982 to 1984. Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in projects such as Charles in Charge, Amityville 3-D, Top Gun, and Promised Land, the latter earning her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Her breakout leading role came in the 1989 Rob Reiner romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally..., opposite Billy Crystal. The film earned Ryan her first Golden Globe Award nomination.

Throughout the 1990s, Ryan maintained a high-profile film career. She starred in romantic comedies including Joe Versus the Volcano, Sleepless in Seattle, French Kiss, and You've Got Mail, earning additional Golden Globe nominations for Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. She also expanded into dramatic roles, starring in When a Man Loves a Woman, which earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, as well as The Doors, Courage Under Fire, the animated feature Anastasia, City of Angels, and Hurlyburly.

In the 2000s, Ryan appeared in a variety of films, including Hanging Up, Proof of Life, Kate & Leopold, In the Cut, Against the Ropes, In the Land of Women, The Deal, My Mom's New Boyfriend, The Women, and Serious Moonlight. In 2015, she made her directorial debut with the feature film Ithaca, in which she also starred. Following an eight-year screen hiatus, Ryan returned to directing and acting in the 2023 romantic comedy What Happens Later.