Meg Ryan - Biography - IMDb
Biography
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Jump to: Overview  (3) | Mini Bio  (1) | Spouse  (1) | Trade Mark  (2) | Trivia  (33) | Personal Quotes  (5) | Salary  (5)
Overview (3)
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
Height
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Blond-haired, blue-eyed with an effervescent personality, Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan (Duggan), an English teacher and one-time actress, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She has Polish, Irish, and German ancestry ("Hyra" is a Polish surname, and "Ryan" is her maternal grandmother's maiden name). Meg graduated from Bethel high school, Bethel in June 1979. Moving to New York, she attended New York University where she majored in journalism. To earn extra money while working on her degree, Meg went into acting using her new name Meg Ryan. In 1981, she had her big screen debut with a brief appearance as Candice Bergen 's daughter in George Cukor 's last film Rich and Famous (1981). She tried out and was cast as Betsy in the day time television soap As the World Turns (1956). She was part of the cast from 1982 to 1984. Meg also had a part in the television series One of the Boys (1982), but this show was soon canceled. In 1984, she moved to tinsel town and landed a job in the western Television Series Wildside (1985). Meg's small part in the blockbuster movie Top Gun (1986) led to her being cast in Steven Spielberg 's Innerspace (1987) where she co-starred with Dennis Quaid . She again co-starred with Quaid in the remake of D.O.A. (1988) and they married on Valentine's Day in 1991. In 1989, Meg appeared in When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and the scene at the restaurant became famous. Meg was nominated for both the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. In 1990, she co-starred with Tom Hanks in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and this time she played three roles as DeDe/Angelica/Patricia. She appeared again with Tom in the very successful Sleepless in Seattle (1993) for which she was again nominated for the Golden Globe. In 1994, Meg decided to act against type when she appeared as the alcoholic wife and mother in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). After that, she went back to "cute" with both I.Q. (1994) and French Kiss (1995). In 1994, Meg won the Harvard Hasty Pudding Award as "Woman of the Year" and was voted as being one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world 1994" by People Magazine.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
Spouse (1)
Trivia (33)
Graduated from Bethel High School. Was Prom Queen. [1979]
Ranked #57 in Premiere (USA) magazine's "The 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood" list. [June 1999]
Ranked #59 on Entertainment Weekly's most powerful people in Hollywood [1998]
Voted most favorite female movie star by the readers and online users of the "People Weekly Magazine" [April 1998]
Ranked #94 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Began Prufrock Pictures in 1994. Then in 2000, Prufrock Pictures was shut down.
Met actor Anthony Edwards during the making of the film Top Gun (1986) and moved in with him. They were a couple until she met actor Dennis Quaid during the film Innerspace (1987), and she moved in with and eventually married him. Both actors portrayed military fighter pilots in their respective roles. Had she been chosen for the role of Robin Monroe in Six Days Seven Nights (1998), that would have made the third time she would have been she would play a character involved with a pilot, albeit not a military pilot.
Turned down the Nicole Kidman role in To Die For (1995).
"Meg Ryan" is an anagram of "Germany". When she registered with the Screen Actors Guild as a teenager, Meg used her maternal grandmother's maiden name, "Ryan", as her stage surname.
Born at 10:08 AM EST
Savage Garden 's song, "All Around Me", was written about her, inspired by a crush from Daniel Jones , the band's composer.
4 February 2002 - An L.A. judge granted a restraining order against John Michael Hughes, a 40 year old real estate agent who had been hanging around Ryan's home claiming to be her fiancee.
Member of jury Festival International de Cannes 2003
Took three weeks of boxing lessons, to prepare for her role in Against the Ropes (2004); Ryan wanted to understand the sport, and the terms her character would use.
Shared an L.A. house with Daphne Zuniga when both were struggling actresses
She and her good friend Tom Hanks have been co-stars in three movies as love interests: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and You've Got Mail (1998).
Did several national commercials as a teenager for Barbie and other products.
Voted "cutest" girl in school, class secretary, and homecoming queen her senior year of high school.
A famous haircut by Sally Hershberger was named "Meg" in honor of Ryan, since she was the first one to have it.
Was offered the role of "Molly Jensen" in Ghost (1990), but turned it down. The part later went to Demi Moore .
Turned down the role of "Vivian Ward" in Pretty Woman (1990). Julia Roberts was later given the role.
Was offered the role of Clarice Starling, in the movie The Silence of the Lambs (1991), that eventually went to Jodie Foster .
Has twice played Candice Bergen 's daughter, first in Rich and Famous (1981) and again in The Women (2008).
Her first film audition was for the role played by Brooke Shields in Endless Love (1981).
Was in consideration for the part of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) but Uma Thurman , who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
Was offered the role of Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie in Steel Magnolias (1989), but she turned it down in order to film When Harry Met Sally... (1989). Julia Roberts , who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
An asteroid is named after her - 8353 Megryan.
Ex-sister-in-law of Randy Quaid .
Her father has Polish ancestry and her mother is of three quarters Irish, and one quarter German, descent. Her paternal great-grandfather, Orest J. Hyra, was born in Galicia, Halychyna, Poland, and met Meg's Polish-American great-grandmother, Anna Durniak, in the United States.
Was originally offered Jodie Foster's role in "Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Coincidentally both actresses share the same birthday (November 19th). Ryan is exactly one year older than Foster (Ryan was born in 1961 and Foster in 1962).
Has 2 children - Jack Henry Quaid ( Jack Quaid ; b.April 24, 1992) with her ex-husband Dennis Quaid and adopted daughter Daisy True Ryan (b.November 2004, adopted as 14-month-old in January 2006 from China).
Personal Quotes (5)
People say that chivalry is dead, I don't think that it's dead, I think it's just got the 'flu!
(Commenting on the nudity and sex in In the Cut (2003)) "You don't go, 'Wow! I get to do a nude scene.' But I love the sex scene in this movie. It was scary, honest and raw. But people could find my body very unattractive. There could be a backlash against it".
The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia. Definitely.
Clearly romantic comedy is my franchise genre, I don't mind saying that, it's true. I love doing them and hopefully always will do them. I don't feel particularly typecast because I think I do so many different kinds of things. Whether they're seen or not is another issue.
On why she hasn't been working very much recently - I've been famous since I was a teenager. There are a lot of empty spaces in that. I just feel like I've been filling in the cracks a little bit. I feel very fortunate, very free. (2008)
Salary (5)