Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), known professionally as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. After playing several minor roles in film and television, Ryan became a star in 1989, when she appeared in When Harry Met Sally. Over the next 15 years, she played leading roles in several romantic-comedy films, including Sleepless in Seattle (1993), French Kiss (1995), Addicted to Love (1997), City of Angels (1998), You’ve Got Mail (1998), and Kate & Leopold (2001), films which together grossed a total of more than $ 870 million worldwide. In 1995, Time critic Richard Corliss called her “the current soul of romantic comedy.”
Ryan was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Susan Jordan (née Ryan) – a former actress and English teacher – and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. Both Susan and Harry were raised in Fairfield, Connecticut. Ryan’s mother had appeared in a television commercial and had later briefly worked as an assistant casting director in New York City. She supported and encouraged her young daughter’s acting studies. Ryan has two sisters, Dana and Annie, and a brother, the musician Andrew Hyra, a member of the band Billy Pilgrim. Her parents divorced in 1976, when she was 15 years old.
Ryan has Polish and Irish ancestry (her surname, “Hyra”, originates in Poland). She was raised a Roman Catholic and graduated from St. Pius X Elementary School in Fairfield, where her mother taught sixth grade. Ryan graduated from Bethel High School in 1979. She went on to study journalism as an undergraduate, first at the University of Connecticut and then at New York University. During college, she acted in television commercials to earn extra money. She dropped out of college a semester before she would have graduated and has said this decision was due to her success as an actress.
Ryan married actor Dennis Quaid on Valentine’s Day 1991, after starring in two films with him (D.O.A. and Innerspace). She agreed to marry him only after he kicked his cocaine addiction. Quaid and Ryan have one child together, Jack Quaid, born April 24, 1992. In 2000, she became involved with Russell Crowe on the set of Proof of Life. She and Quaid separated and their divorce became final on July 16, 2001. In September 2008, Ryan stated that Quaid had been unfaithful to her for a long time while they were married.
In January 2006, Ryan adopted a 14-month-old girl from China named Daisy True.
As of January 2011, she is in a relationship with American rock singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, who announced on December 30, 2010 that he and his wife, Elaine Irwin Mellencamp, were divorcing after 18 years of marriage.
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.