Winona Ryder (born Winona Laura Horowitz; October 29, 1971) is an American actress. She made her film debut as Rina in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role is in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988), as Lydia Deetz, a goth teenager, and won her critical and popular recognition. She reprise her role as Lydia in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). After various appearances in film and television, Ryder continued her acting career as Veronica Sawyer in the cult film Heathers (1988), a controversial satire of a teenage suicide and high school life that drew Ryder further critical attention and commercial success. She later appeared as Charlotte Flax in Mermaids (1990), earning a Golden Globe nomination, as Kim Boggs in Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990), and as Mina Murray in Francis Coppola's gothic romance Bram Stroker's Dracula (1992).
In 2002, Ryder starred in the critically panned box office hit Mr. Deeds, after which her career declined and she took a break from films. In 2009, she returned as Amanda Grayson in the high-profile film Star Trek. In 2010, she starred as Lois Wilson in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story and had a supporting role as Beth MacIntyre in Black Swan. In 2012, Ryder reunited with Burton by voicing Elsa Van Helsing in the animated feature, Frankenweenie and appeared as Wax Girl in the music video "Here With Me" from the band "The Killers", which is also directed by Burton.
Since 2016, she has starred as Joyce Byers in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things, for which she has received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations; while in 2020, she starred in the HBO drama miniseries The Plot Against America.
Biography[]
Having played diverse roles in many well-received films, Ryder won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and an Academy Award nomination in the same category for her role in The Age of Innocence with Michelle Pfeiffer in 1993 as well as another Academy Award nomination, as Best Actress, for Little Women the following year. She later appeared in the Generation X cult hit Reality Bites (1994), Alien Resurrection (1997), the Woody Allen comedy Celebrity (1998), and Girl, Interrupted (1999), which she also executive-produced. In 2000, Ryder received a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.
Ryder's personal life has attracted significant media attention. Her relationship with Johnny Depp and her 2001 arrest for shoplifting were constant subjects of tabloid journalism. She has, since revealed her personal struggles with anxiety and depression. In 2002, she appeared in the box office smash Mr. Deeds. In 2006, Ryder returned to the screen after a brief hiatus, later appearing in high-profile films such as Star Trek. In 2010, she was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards: as the lead actress in When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story and as part of the cast of Black Swan. She also reunited with Burton for Frankenweenie (2012). Since 2016, she has starred as Joyce Byers in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things, for which she has received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations; while in 2020, she starred in the HBO drama miniseries The Plot Against America and the comedy horror sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).
In 2021, Ryder reprised her role as Kim Boggs in Edward Scissorhands alongside Timothée Chalamet playing her son in a Super Bowl ad for Cadillac.
Ryder's next film is Gone in the Night, co-starring with Dermot Mulroney, her former co-star in How To Make an American Quilt.
In September 2024, Ryder reprise her role as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Gallery[]
Roles[]
Trivia[]
- Ryder suffers from aquaphobia, because of a traumatic near-drowning at the age of 12. She also has insomnia.
- She was named after the nearby city of Winona, Minnesota.
- Ryder is the godmother of Matt Duffer's daughter.
- Ryder has credited her career to Tim Burton.
- In 2000, Ryder received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring her legacy in the film industry.
- When she was younger, she wanted to be a competitive skateboarder.
- She joined Amnesty International at age 12.
- Her godfather is Timothy Leary.
- She was in a relationship with her Edward Scissorhands co-star, Johnny Depp, whom she was engaged to from 1989-1993.
- Ryder appears as Wax Girl in the music video "Here With Me" from the band "The Killers", which is directed by Tim Burton.
- Ryder and Monica Bellucci appears in the 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola as Mina Murray and Dracula's Bride, although they did not have any scenes together.
- Ryder has been involved in philanthropic work since her twenties for the American Indian College Fund, which sends low income Native Americans to universities.
- Ryder's best friend Robert Rich has written a book called "Winona", which was filled with 100 new/old photos of her with her permission.
- One of Ryder's conditions with the Duffer Brothers after joining Stranger Things is, when the sequel of Beetlejuice is being made, they'll let her take some time from the series to film the movie.