Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan is a blonde-haired, blue eyed woman with a vivacious personality. Her birth name is Margaret Mary Emily Hyra to Susan (Duggan) and was an English teacher, and once an actress. Harry Hyra was a math teacher. Meg is of Ruthenian, Polish, Irish, and German roots. ("Hyra" is a Ruthenian surname, and "Ryan" is the maiden name of her maternal grandmother). Meg graduated from Bethel high school in Bethel in June 1979. Moving to New York, she attended New York University where she majored in journalism. To earn extra money while studying for her degree, Meg went into acting using her new name Meg Ryan. 1981 was her big screen debut. She played Candice Bergen's daughter in the film directed by George Cukor Rich and Famous (1981). She was cast in the part as Betsy in the TV soap As the World Turns (1956) after she auditioned. From 1982 to 1984, she was part of the team. Meg was also a character in the television show One of the Boys (1982), however, this show was later cancelled. Meg moved to Hollywood in 1984 and got an interview for the western series Wildside (1985). Meg was in a small part in Top Gun (1986), and was later cast in Steven Spielberg's Innerspace (1987), in which she co-starred with Dennis Quaid. She again co-starred with Quaid in the remake of D.O.A. (1988) and they got wed on Saint Valentine's Day 1991. Meg was in 1989's When Harry Met Sally... (1989), and the restaurant scene was made famous. Meg was twice nominated for the Golden Globe and 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. Meg was also seen alongside Tom in the hugely successful Sleepless in Seattle (1993) for which she was again nominated for the Golden Globe. In 1994, Meg decided to act in a different way when she appeared as an alcoholic spouse and mother in the film When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). Following that, Meg went back to her "cute" I.Q. (1994) & French Kiss (1995). People Magazine named Meg "Woman of the Year" in 1994, and she was awarded the Harvard Hasty Pudding Award.