biography

Meg Ryan was born in Fairfield, Connecticut on November 19, 1961, and was given the name Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra. She moved with her family to Bethel in 1974. Two years later (when Meg was 15) her homemaker mother abandoned the family to become an actress, leaving her father Harry, a high school math teacher and coach to raise their four children.

After high school Meg enrolled at the University of Connecticut to study journalism. Her mother helped her secure a Screen Actors Guild card under her maiden name - Ryan - and Meg was able to land enough acting gigs (mostly TV commercials) to pay for the bulk of her tuition.

In 1981, at the age of 20 , she made her film debut, starring in "Rich and Famous" as Candice Bergen's daughter. She went on to appear in several TV series, including a three-year stint on the popular soap opera "As the World Turns" as Betsy Stewart Montgomery. She continued landing mediocre roles in passable films. That all changed in 1986 when she landed the role of Anthony Edwards wife in the incredibly successful "Top Gun".

This led to her being cast in Steven Spielberg's movie "Innerspace" (1987) where she co-starred with Dennis Quaid. She again co-starred with Quaid in the remake of "D.O.A." in 1988. The couple were married on Valentine Day in 1991 and share a son, Jack Henry, born in April, 1992.

In 1989 Meg skyrocketed to fame starring opposite Billy Crystal in the romantic comedy, "When Harry Met Sally". This began her common association with this genre, partly due to the famous 'fake orgasm' scene, now a classic moment in film history. Her relationship with romance films was sealed in 1993 when she starred with Tom Hanks in "Sleepless in Seattle".

She did, however, prove her versatility by playing an alcoholic mother-of-two in "When a Man Loves a Woman" with Andy Garcia. More recently she also played an Irish patient in a Quaker hospice in "Restoration".

She began her own production company in 1993, which she titled 'Prufrock' and she was a producer for the film "French Kiss" in which she also starred.

Meg's recent ventures have included "Courage Under Fire", "You've Tot Mail" and "Hurly Bruly", mixing her well-known persona of romantic-comedy queen with a lesser-seen talent for drama. Her latest production, "Hanging Up" is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 18th, 2000.