Meg Ryan became one of America’s favorite stars when she played sweet, romantic characters in popular movies during the 80s and 90s.
The lovely actress with her blonde, shaggy haircut is still remembered for famous films like Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.
Back then, no one thought her fame would fade — but after 2018, she completely disappeared from movies.
Today, the 61-year-old actress mostly stays out of the spotlight, but she recently appeared on the red carpet and surprised people with how she looks.
I can’t be the only one who had a crush on Meg Ryan in the 80s and 90s. With her blonde hair and blue eyes, she was the queen of romantic comedies, and people called her “America’s sweetheart” for a good reason.
She was one of the most loved actresses in Hollywood for about 20 years.
But it wasn’t always clear that Meg Ryan would become famous.
Born in 1961, Ryan grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut. Her dad, Harry Hyra, was a math teacher with Polish roots. Her mom, Susan Jordan, was also a teacher but had once worked as an actress — so being on stage was already part of the family.
Changed her name
However, her parents got divorced in 1976 when Meg was just 15, and things between Meg and her parents became difficult as she got older.
Later, Meg decided to cut ties with her mother after some problems. She also changed her last name to “Ryan,” which was her grandmother’s maiden name, when she signed up with the Screen Actors Guild.
As a young woman, Meg went to the University of Connecticut and then to New York University to study journalism. But her time in college ended up changing her life in a way no one expected.
Meg Ryan started acting in TV commercials and soap operas to make some extra money. Then, she got a role in As the World Turns, and many producers noticed the talented young actress.
Ryan left college and decided to chase a career in acting. She got a small but important role in the hit movie Top Gun, where she played Carole Bradshaw, the wife of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (played by Anthony Edwards).
The romantic action movie was the biggest box office hit of 1986 and helped Meg get bigger roles.
She also found love while working on Top Gun. She started dating her co-star and on-screen husband, Anthony Edwards. The two were together for a while and even moved in together.
In 1987, Meg Ryan starred in the science fiction movie Innerspace, where she worked alongside her future husband, Dennis Quaid.
“She had already been in Top Gun, but it was a small role. She also starred in a movie called Armed and Dangerous with John Candy not long before. But this was a big step forward for her, and of course, she met Dennis and later they got married,” director Joe Dante told Cinema Retro.
Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid quickly fell in love and got married on February 14, 1991.
“It felt like a lightning bolt,” Dennis said. “We both knew right away — this is it, we’re meant to be together.”
The couple got married in their hotel room on Valentine’s Day. Meg’s mother wasn’t invited to the wedding.
“I was laughing and crying at the same time,” Meg told the New York Post. “And I realized I could never have gotten married in front of a big crowd.”
Rom-com star
Her rise to fame took off when she landed the lead role in the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally… Ryan played Sally Albright, starring alongside Billy Crystal. The movie didn’t get great reviews at first, but today it’s seen as a classic romantic comedy.
This film also helped Meg Ryan earn her lasting title as the queen of rom-coms.
In 1993, Meg Ryan starred alongside Tom Hanks in another hit romantic comedy, Sleepless in Seattle. Once again, the sweet “girl-next-door” won over audiences and was praised for her acting.
“I think her cuteness sometimes makes people forget how truly talented she is as a comedy actress,” director Nora Ephron told Vanity Fair in 1995.
Tom Hanks also shared his thoughts about Meg, saying she’s quite different from the characters she plays in Nora Ephron’s movies. Even though critics called her “the heart of romantic comedies,” Meg had other sides too.
“Meg isn’t perky. I always felt like this is a woman you don’t mess with,” Tom Hanks said in 1995.
Interestingly, it wasn’t a sure thing that she’d get the part of Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle. In fact, she was the sixth choice — other stars like Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger, and Michelle Pfeiffer were offered the role first but turned it down.
More serious roles
After the success of Sleepless in Seattle, Meg Ryan turned down a role in the famous movie The Silence of the Lambs. Instead, she chose to stick with what made her popular — romantic comedies.
But in 1996, she wanted to try something different. So, she took a darker role in the war drama Courage Under Fire, acting alongside Denzel Washington and Matt Damon.
The movie, released in 1996, did well at the box office, and it seemed like Ryan couldn’t go wrong. Her success continued in 1998, one of the best years in her career. She starred with Nicolas Cage in the romantic comedy City of Angels, which became another hit. Critics praised her again, and the movie made nearly $200 million.
That same year, Meg Ryan had another important role when she worked again with Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail. The movie is set during the time when emails and the internet were new, and it tells the story of two rivals who fall in love by emailing each other without knowing who the other really is.
Meg got her third Golden Globe nomination for this movie. The New York Times said:
“Ms. Ryan plays her role naturally and believably this time, with a fresh feel, little cute fidgeting, and great chemistry with Mr. Hanks.” It was a perfect way to end a great decade for the actress!
If the 90s were a time of success, the 2000s were much harder for Meg Ryan. She started the new decade with some failed movies, and her personal life went through a lot of problems.
When she acted opposite Russell Crowe in Proof of Life, rumors about a romance began to spread. Around the same time, Ryan and her husband announced they were separating in 2000.
During this difficult period, the tabloids criticized her for being involved with Russell Crowe while she was still married. People were shocked because her actions didn’t fit the image of the sweet girl-next-door, so the story made big headlines.
Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe
What many people didn’t know was that Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid’s marriage was already falling apart before she began dating Russell Crowe.
Their marriage was often seen as a fairytale and the perfect Hollywood relationship, but the truth was very different.
“It was a great story. But what wasn’t told was the reality of my nine-year marriage. Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful. I learned more about it after we divorced,” Meg Ryan said in an interview with InStyle magazine in 2008.
Meg Ryan also said that her relationship with her Proof of Life co-star had nothing to do with her divorce from Dennis Quaid.
“I think Dennis took a big hit, but Russell didn’t break up the marriage. He was there at the end, but it wasn’t his fault,” Ryan said. She added,
“The public and the press got involved much later. The reasons we split had nothing to do with another person.”
Her ex-husband wasn’t happy about Ryan’s comments years after their well-known divorce.
“It happened eight years ago, and I can’t believe Meg still talks publicly and changes the story of our relationship,” he told the New York Daily News.
While Meg Ryan described their relationship as a “very unhealthy marriage,” Dennis Quaid remembers it more warmly.
“Of course, I still love her,” Quaid told Independent. “I’m very fond of her, and we had a lot of good times. We spent 13 great years together, had a child, and shared so much — she made my life.”
Meg Ryan daughter
In the mid-2000s, Meg Ryan faced some challenges in her career, and her fame started to fade. She began focusing more on her personal life and decided to grow her family.
As a single mom, she adopted a 14-month-old baby girl from China. She named her Daisy and brought her home in 2006.
“I really wanted a baby; I was looking to connect with someone, and Daisy and I found each other at the right time. We get along so well. Having had Jack before and now Daisy in a different way — the love you feel is the same,” Ryan told Redbook magazine in 2007.
Meg Ryan’s last big role was in 2008, when she starred in The Women, a comedy-drama. After that, she took a break from acting and stayed out of the spotlight for some time.
She also tried directing with the movie Ithaca, but it didn’t seem to be the right fit for her. In recent years, the former all-American star has only appeared in small acting roles.
“I wasn’t as interested in acting as I was in other parts of life. I wanted to live more,” she told the New York Times in 2019 and added:
“I don’t think I’m naturally a performer. I knew I had chances and certain roles I could play as an actor. I liked acting and thought it was fun. But acting was something I was learning to handle.”
Meg Ryan’s son
Although Ryan and Quaid went their separate ways, they will always share a special bond because of their son.
Their son, Jack Quaid, was born in 1992 and has followed in his parents’ footsteps. He made his acting debut in The Hunger Games and has since appeared in many TV shows and movies.
When Meg Ryan went through a very hard time in her life, she stopped acting for three years after her very public divorce. She wanted to spend more time with her family, and it seems she has a strong bond with her son.
For example, in 2015, they worked together when Meg directed Jack in the movie Ithaca.
“It’s lucky that I grew up saying, ‘I want to be an actor,’ and my family understood that. I didn’t grow up in a house that didn’t get it or told me, ‘That’s not a good choice, you should have a backup plan,’” Jack said to Insider in 2022.
Meg Ryan today
Many people have wondered what happened to Meg Ryan in recent years since she doesn’t appear on screen as much anymore.
To me, Meg Ryan still looks much like she did when she first became famous—her face is closely linked to the lovely romantic comedies she starred in.
So, I was a bit surprised when I saw her recently. But, of course, actresses age too. Meg Ryan is now 61, which is clear in newer photos. Still, she remains beautiful and incredibly talented.
Today, Meg Ryan focuses on writing romantic comedies and helps produce a show for NBC.
“I’m also preparing to direct, and I’m working on a fun e-commerce project with some friends,” she said in 2019.
Because of this, she doesn’t show up on the red carpet as much, but every now and then, Meg Ryan makes an appearance at gala premieres.
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She is also active on Instagram, where she has over 600,000 followers.
“Like anything, if it’s overdone, it becomes a problem,” Meg Ryan told InStyle. She added, “But I do appreciate hearing from—well, not everyone [laughs]—but hearing directly from people, because it helps show the complexity of a person. Things are never just black and white. No story is ever as simple as a headline.”
A source close to Meg Ryan told OK! Magazine in 2020 that a comeback to the movie world is definitely possible. They said Ryan is “ready to conquer Hollywood once again.”
It’s inspiring to see Meg Ryan today, still driven by a passion to create and leave her mark on the world.
She may not shine as brightly as she did in the ’90s, but her unforgettable films and charming rom-coms have left a lasting legacy for all of us.
Thank you for the memories, Meg — here’s wishing you all the best in what’s ahead!
