Meg Ryan

Blue-eyed, blonde-haired with a bubbly 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 family heritage includes Ruthenian, Polish and Irish, as well as German. ("Hyra") is her Ruthenian surname "Ryan", is her maternal grandmother's maiden name. Meg graduated from Bethel High School, Bethel in May 1979. After moving to New York, she attended New York University where she majored in journalism. Meg Ryan as her new name, began acting in order to earn money while she was completing her studies. Her first screen appearance came in 1981 with a short appearance as Candice Bergen’s daughter in George Cukor's last film Rich and Famous (1981). She was cast in the part as Betsy in the television soap as the World Turns (1956) after she tried out. She was in the show's cast from 1982 to 1984. Meg was also part of the TV show One of the Boys (1982) and was ended. She relocated to Hollywood in 1984, where she was offered an offer to appear on the western television series Wildside (1985). Meg's part in the blockbuster movie Top Gun (1986) led to her being part of Steven Spielberg's Innerspace (1987) where she co-starred with Dennis Quaid. For the remake of D.O.A., she starred again with Quaid. (1988) and they were wed on Saint Valentine's Day 1991. In 1989, Meg appeared in When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and the scene in the restaurant was a hit. Meg was nominated both for the Golden Globe as well as 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. She appeared again with Tom in the critically acclaimed Sleepless in Seattle (1993) for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe. Meg determined to stand out from the crowd in 1994 when she played the role of Meg as a mother/wife who has a drinking problem in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). Following that, she went back to "cute" with both I.Q. (1994) as well as 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 selected as being one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1994" by People Magazine.