Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan is a blonde-haired blue-eyed lady with a vivacious personality. She was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra to Susan (Duggan), the daughter of an English teacher and a former actor. Harry Hyra was a math teacher. Her ancestry spans Ruthenian, Polish and Irish and German. ("Hyra") is her Ruthenian surname and "Ryan", is her maternal grandmother's maiden. Meg graduated from Bethel High School in Bethel in May 1979. She then moved to New York and majored as a journalist at New York University. Meg Ryan was her new name and she began acting to earn a little extra cash during her time at university. In the year 1981, she had her first big screen debut, with only a brief appearance as Candice Bergen's daughter in George Cukor's last film Rich and Famous (1981). She was a test subject and was cast as Betsy in the day time soap on television As the World Turns (1956). From 1982 until 1984, she was a part of the ensemble. Meg was also a character in the TV show One of the Boys (1982) which, however, was later cancelled. She relocated to Hollywood in 1984, and was offered an offer to appear on the western television series Wildside (1985). Meg played a minor role in Top Gun (1986), later being part of Steven Spielberg's Innerspace (1987) which was a film in which she co-starred with Dennis Quaid. In D.O.A.'s remake, she again starred alongside Quaid. (1988) and they were married on Saint Valentine's Day in 1991. Meg appeared in 1989's When Harry Met Sally... (1989), and the scene at the restaurant became famous. Meg was nominated to 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. Meg was also seen alongside Tom in the hugely successful Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and was nominated for the Golden Globe. Meg took a stand against the grain in 1994 when she played the role of Meg's wife who is an alcoholic and mother "When a Man Loves a Woman" (1994). After that, Meg returned to her "cute" I.Q. (1994) and French Kiss (1995). The year 1994 was the year that Meg was awarded the Harvard Hasty Pudding Award for being "Woman of the Year" and was voted as one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1994" by People Magazine.