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Born in Fairfield, Connecticut
November 19, 1961
Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Susan Hyra Jordan (née Ryan), a former actress, casting director, and English-teacher, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She has two sisters, Dana and Annie, and a brother, Andrew. The main relatives of the Hyra family are in Canada.
Ryan was raised a Roman Catholic and graduated from Saint Pius X Elementary School in Fairfield, where her mother taught the sixth grade. There, Ryan was confirmed into the Catholic Church, choosing Anne as her confirmation name. Ryan's mother had appeared in one television commercial and later worked briefly as an assistant casting director in New York City. She supported and encouraged her young daughter's study of acting.
She graduated from Bethel High School in 1979. She went on to study journalism at the University of Connecticut and then at New York University, while acting in television commercials to earn extra money. Her success as an actress led her to drop out of college only a semester shy of graduating.
As the World Turns
January 1, 1982 - January 1, 1984
Ryan played Betsy Stewart in the daytime drama As the World Turns from 1982 to 1984; she was featured in a popular romantic story arc.
Dated Anthony Edwards
May 1, 1986 - July 1, 1987
Ryan 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.
Top Gun
May 16, 1986
In 1986, Ryan played Carole Bradshaw (wife of naval aviator Nick "Goose" Bradshaw; played by Anthony Edwards) in Top Gun. The film follows LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young Naval aviator who aspires to be a top fighter pilot in the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, which trains the top 1% of all Naval aviators. Maverick gets his chance to attend the school after one pilot drops out, allowing him and his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer, the "back seater" in the two-man F-14) LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw to train with the best. The film opened in America on May 16, 1986 to good reviews, the aerial scenes being most notably praised. Similar praise followed soon afterwards when the film broke records at the box office, becoming a mega hit. The film accumulated over $350 million world-wide, and broke home-video sales records.
Innerspace
July 1, 1987
Ryan played Lydia Maxwell in the movie Innerspace, which also starred Dennis Quaid. Down on his luck Navy pilot Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) is selected as a guinea pig to participate in an experimental project which will place him in a submersible pod, to be shrunk to microscopic size and injected into the body of a rabbit. Immediately after being miniaturized, the experiment takes a bad turn when the lab is attacked. The experiment supervisor Ozzie Wexler escapes with the miniaturized Tuck in a syringe. After sustaining a fatal gunshot wound, he injects Tuck and the pod into hypochondriac Safeway clerk Jack Putter (Martin Short).
Promised Land
January 22, 1988
Promised Land is a 1987 drama film, written and directed by Michael Hoffman, and it stars Kiefer Sutherland and Meg Ryan. It is set in Utah and is apparently based on a true story. It is notable partly for Ryan playing an atypical part as a hellraiser. It was the first film to be commissioned by the Sundance Film Festival, and uses the drama over economic class and manhood in order to offer a critic of the Reagan Administration. The film is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for some profanity and sexual situations.
The Presidio
June 10, 1988
At the Presidio, the Army base in San Francisco, a female MP (Jenette Goldstein) was shot. Jay Austin (Harmon), a San Francisco Police detective, is sent to investigate and he is met by Lt. Colonel Caldwell (Connery), the provost marshal, who was his commanding officer when he was an MP at the Presidio.
Years ago, Austin tried to arrest an Army officer (Dana Gladstone). Caldwell didn't support him, and in the aftermath Austin was demoted, so Austin then quit the army. The murdered MP was Austin's partner. Now the investigation casts suspicion on the officer Austin tried to arrest. When Caldwell refuses to let Austin press him, Austin tries to go after him on his own but the suspect is killed in a hit and run after a lengthy footchase. Caldwell is not pleased about it, and the fact Austin is now dating Caldwell's daughter (Ryan) is not helping the relationship at all.
When Harry Met Sally...
July 21, 1989
Ryan's first full-blown hit in a leading role was the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989) which paired her with comedic leading man Billy Crystal. Her portrayal of Sally Albright, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, is memorable for her depiction of a theatrical faked orgasm in a Manhattan delicatessen.
Married to Dennis Quaid
Feburary 14, 1991 - July 16, 2001
Ryan married actor Dennis Quaid on Valentine's Day in 1991, after starring in two films with him. Ryan agreed to marry him only after he kicked his cocaine addiction. Quaid and Ryan had one child together, Jack Henry, born April 24, 1992. The couple separated in 2000 and their divorce became final on July 16, 2001.
The Doors
March 1, 1991
The film portrays Morrison as the larger-than-life icon of 1960s rock and roll, counterculture, and the drug-using free love hippie lifestyle. But the depiction goes beyond the iconic: his alcoholism, interest in the spiritual plane and hallucinogenic drugs as entheogens, and, particularly, his obsession with death are threads which weave in and out of the film. Attentive viewers (or those who listen to Stone's DVD commentary) witness Death personified throughout the film by Richard Rutowski, who appears in different guises throughout the film, including drag in one scene, an Indian who dances behind Morrison during the band's performance of "Break On Through", and a horse carriage driver in another scene.
Son Jack Henry Born
April 24, 1992
Quaid and Ryan had one child together, Jack Henry, born April 24, 1992. The couple separated in 2000 and their divorce became final on July 16, 2001.
Prelude to a Kiss
July 10, 1992
Despite her pessimistic outlook on life, Rita Boyle, a liberal, free-spirited aspiring graphic designer who earns a living as a bartender, falls in love with and marries Peter Hoskins, the conservative employee of a Chicago publishing house. At their wedding, the couple is approached by Julius, a lonely, elderly man who requests permission to kiss the bride. When he does, their spirits switch places, leaving Peter with a young, vibrant wife trapped within an aged, diseased, disintegrating body. Whether or not he can see beyond the physical and embrace the beautiful soul he loves and Julius will agree to return to his cancer-riddled flesh by kissing Rita again are the dilemmas that must be resolved.
Sleepless in Seattle
June 25, 1993
Ryan co-starred in the hugely successful romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, which paired her with leading man Tom Hanks for the second of three times.
Courage Under Fire
July 12, 1996
Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington) was involved in a friendly fire incident in Al Bathra during the Gulf War. He was a M1 Abrams tank commander who, during the nighttime confusion of Iraqi tanks infiltrating his unit's lines, gave the order to fire, destroying one of his own tanks and killing his friend Boylar. The details were covered up (Boylar's parents were told that their son was killed by enemy fire), and he was reassigned to a desk job.
Later, he is given the task of determining if Captain Karen Emma Walden (Meg Ryan) should be the first woman to receive (posthumously) the Medal of Honor for bravery in combat in the First Gulf War. A Medevac helicopter commander, she went to the rescue of another chopper that had been shot down and was under heavy fire from an Iraqi tank and infantrymen. The tank was knocked out by dropping a fuel bottle and it was shot with a flare gun, but her helicopter was shot down in the process. Both crews remained under attack and were unable to join forces. The survivors were rescued the next day, but Walden was killed in action.
City of Angels
April 10, 1998
City of Angels drew negative reviews, but became a huge financial success, topping nearly 200 million worldwide. Seth (Nicolas Cage) is one of many Angels who watch over humans and protect them in unseen ways. The movie portrays angels in a somewhat traditional role without referencing a specific faith. Seth's main responsibility is to appear to those who are in the process of death and guide them to the next life. As part of this task, Seth and one of his fellow angels, Cassiel, like to ask people what their favorite part of life was. It appears to be an effort to understand humans.
While waiting to escort another person who is undergoing an unsuccessful heart surgery, Seth is impressed by the vigorous efforts of the surgeon, Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan) to save the ill-fated man's life and her sincere anguish at her failure to do so. (The man is in fact standing with Seth watching Maggie try to save him.) Seth soon becomes fascinated with Maggie and decides to become visible to her although he is not able to give her many convincing details about himself such as what he does for a living or even his last name. Despite this, they develop a friendship which starts to progress toward love although Maggie is already involved with one of her fellow doctors.
You've Got Mail
December 18, 1998
You've Got Mail, which once again paired Ryan with Tom Hanks, earned her a third Golden Globe nomination and made over $250 million worldwide.
Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) is involved with Frank Navasky (Greg Kinnear). While Frank, a newspaper writer for the New York Observer, is devoted to his typewriter, Kathleen prefers her laptop and logging into her AOL e-mail account. There, using the avatar "Shopgirl", Kathleen communicates with "NY152". This is the avatar for Joe Fox (Tom Hanks). Joe belongs to the Fox family which runs Fox Books — a chain of "mega" bookstores like Borders or Barnes & Noble. Kathleen, on the other hand, runs the independent bookstore The Shop Around The Corner, that her mother ran before her. The central conflict of the film revolves around the ability of Kathleen and Joe to interact well in virtual reality while they are business competitors in the "real world." A persistent mode of dramatic irony appears when Kathleen and Joe read each other's emails.
Dated Russell Crowe
July 9, 2000
Meg Ryan had a relationship with actor Russell Crowe for a few months in 2000; however, the relationship did not last as Ryan broke things off
Proof of Life
December 8, 2000
In 2000, Ryan starred in the action thriller Proof of Life opposite Russell Crowe. She also received a paycheck of $15 million, establishing her as one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. The film was a critical and commercial flop.
Restraining Order Against Stalker
Feburary 4, 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.
Kate & Leopold
August 23, 2002
Ryan returned to her romantic comedy roots in the film Kate & Leopold. The film was well-received by some critics, but failed to find an audience. Kate & Leopold is a 2001 romantic comedy motion picture that tells a story of a Duke who time travels from 1876 to the present and falls in love with a career woman in New York.
In the Cut
October 22, 2003
In 2003, Ryan broke away from her usual roles, starring in Jane Campion's In the Cut, an erotic crime thriller. While her decision earned Ryan much media attention, the movie still proved to be a failure with both critics and audiences, grossing only $23 million in theaters. In October 2003, while in the UK to promote In the Cut, Ryan had a controversial interview with Michael Parkinson on the long-running television talk show Parkinson, which resulted in some negative publicity in the British press.
Adopted Daughter Daisy True
January 1, 2006
In January 2006, Ryan adopted a 14 month old girl from China named Daisy True.
In the Land of Women
April 20, 2007
After being dumped by his girlfriend, Los Angeles resident Carter Webb (Brody) travels to Michigan to take care of his sick grandmother. Webb immediately begins to bond with his grandmother's neighbors, housewife Sarah Hardwicke (Ryan) and her elder teenage daughter, Lucy. The relationships he builds with these two and his grandmother lead him to look differently upon his own life and the future ahead of him.
