Meg Ryan

Born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra, Meg Ryan grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut. Her mother, Susan Jordan, was a former actress and English teacher, while her father, Harry Hyra, was a math teacher. Ryan graduated from Bethel High School in 1979 and studied journalism at the University of Connecticut and New York University.

While at NYU, Ryan appeared in television commercials and pursued acting to earn extra money. She left college before graduating after acting opportunities increased. When she joined the Screen Actors Guild, she adopted Ryan, her maternal grandmother's maiden name, as her professional surname.

Ryan made her film debut at age 20 in George Cukor's Rich and Famous (1981), playing the teenage daughter of a homemaker and novelist. She joined the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982 and played Betsy Stewart until 1984. Early television work also included One of the Boys, Charles in Charge, and the western series Wildside.

Her appearance as Carole Bradshaw in Top Gun (1986) brought her wider recognition. She then starred opposite Dennis Quaid in Innerspace (1987) and the remake of D.O.A. (1988). Ryan and Quaid married in 1991 and had a son, Jack Quaid, in 1992. Their divorce was finalized in 2001.

Ryan became a star with her role as Sally Albright in Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally... (1989), written by Nora Ephron and co-starring Billy Crystal. The film earned her a Golden Globe nomination and established the combination of quick wit, warmth, and physical comedy that became central to her screen image.

Ryan originated the idea of having Sally theatrically fake an orgasm in the crowded Katz's Delicatessen scene. She later reunited with Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and You've Got Mail (1998), two major romantic-comedy successes. Ryan had previously played three separate characters opposite Hanks in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990).

During the 1990s, Ryan became closely associated with romantic comedies and was widely nicknamed "America's Sweetheart" and the "Queen of Rom-coms." Her notable films from the period included French Kiss, I.Q., Addicted to Love, and City of Angels. The American Film Institute ranked When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle among its greatest romantic comedies.

Ryan also sought roles outside the genre. She played the wife of Jim Morrison in The Doors, a woman affected by childhood violence in Flesh and Bone, a helicopter pilot in Courage Under Fire, and the title character in the animated film Anastasia. Her performance as an alcoholic wife in When a Man Loves a Woman earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role.

Ryan continued to take varied roles in the early 2000s, including Proof of Life, Kate & Leopold, and Against the Ropes. In Jane Campion's In the Cut (2003), she played a sexually confident woman in an erotic thriller and appeared in a nude love scene, a marked departure from the wholesome romantic-comedy persona associated with her earlier work.

The film received a poor commercial response, and Ryan later described In the Cut, together with the end of her marriage to Dennis Quaid, as a turning point in her career. Her tense 2003 interview with Michael Parkinson while promoting the film became a widely discussed television moment. Ryan subsequently reduced her acting workload and public appearances for several years.

Ryan returned to film with In the Land of Women (2007) and later appeared in The Women, The Deal, and Serious Moonlight. She also made television appearances in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Lisa Kudrow's improvisational comedy series Web Therapy. In 2015, she made her feature directing debut with Ithaca, a drama based on William Saroyan's novel The Human Comedy, in which she also acted.

Ryan returned to the screen in 2023 with What Happens Later, a romantic comedy that she directed, co-wrote, and starred in opposite David Duchovny. In 2024, she received the honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival and participated in a masterclass moderated by director Danis Tanović. She also reunited with Billy Crystal in 2025 for a Hellmann's advertisement that recreated the famous diner setting from When Harry Met Sally....