Meg Ryan

Blue-eyed blonde with an exuberant personality, Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan (Duggan) who was she was an English teacher and actor and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. Her ancestry spans Ruthenian, Polish and Irish, as well as German. ("Hyra") is her Ruthenian surname and "Ryan", is her maternal grandmother's maiden name. Meg graduated in June 1979 from Bethel high school, Bethel. She moved to New York and majored as journalist at New York University. Meg Ryan was her name, and she began acting to earn additional money during her time at university. 1981 was her big screen debut. She portrayed Candice Bergen's daughter in the film by George Cukor Rich and Famous (1981). She auditioned and was eventually cast as Betsy on the daytime television soap As the World turns (1956). She was a part of the cast from 1982 until 1984. Meg also played a role in the TV series One of the Boys (1982), however, this show was later put on hold. In 1984, Meg relocated to Hollywood, and was offered a job with the western-themed television series Wildside (1985). Meg had a small role in Top Gun (1986), which led to her casting in Steven Spielberg's Innerspace (1987) in which she co-starred with Dennis Quaid. In D.O.A.'s remake, she again starred alongside Quaid. (1988) and the couple married on Saint Valentine's Day in 1991. In 1989, Meg appeared in When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and the scene in the restaurant gained a lot of attention. 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. She also appeared in of the highly successful Sleepless in Seattle (1993) which was nominated for the Golden Globe. Meg decided to act against her peers in 1994 by playing the part of Meg as an alcoholic wife/mother in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). Then, she went back to her "cute" I.Q. (1994) and French Kiss (1995). In 1994, Meg won the Harvard Hasty Pudding Award as "Woman of the Year" and was also voted as being one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world 1994" by People Magazine.