Winona Ryder
American actress known for quirky roles in the late 1980s and dramatic performances in the 1990s, with a career resurgence in Stranger Things.
Winona Ryder, born Winona Laura Horowitz on October 29, 1971, is an American actress. She first gained notice for playing quirky roles in the late 1980s, then found greater success with dramatic parts in the 1990s. Her awards include a Golden Globe, plus nominations for two Oscars, a BAFTA, and a Grammy.
She made her film debut in *Lucas* (1986) and broke out with the comedy *Beetlejuice* (1988). Major roles followed in *Heathers* (1989), *Edward Scissorhands* (1990), *Mermaids* (1990), and *Bram Stoker's Dracula* (1992). She earned back-to-back Oscar nominations—Best Supporting Actress for *The Age of Innocence* (1993) and Best Actress for *Little Women* (1994). Other notable films include *Reality Bites* (1994), *How to Make an American Quilt* (1995), *The Crucible* (1996), *Alien Resurrection* (1997), *Celebrity* (1998), *Girl, Interrupted* (1999), and *Mr. Deeds* (2002).
After heavy media coverage of her 2001 shoplifting arrest, Ryder took a break from acting in the early 2000s. She returned with roles in *Star Trek* (2009), *Black Swan* (2010), *When Love Is Not Enough* (2010), and *The Dilemma* (2011). Her career revived when she played Joyce Byers on the Netflix series *Stranger Things* (2016–2025), earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Television Drama—her third Golden Globe nod. She later starred in the HBO miniseries *The Plot Against America* (2020) and the *Beetlejuice* sequel *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* (2024).
Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Winona County, Minnesota, to Cynthia Palmer (née Istas) and Michael D. Horowitz. Her mother is an author, video producer, and editor; her father was an author, editor, publisher, and antiquarian bookseller who also worked as an archivist for psychologist Timothy Leary, Ryder’s godfather. She has Irish ancestry through her mother, and her father was of Ashkenazi Jewish descent with roots in Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. As a child, she visited her paternal grandparents in Brooklyn for Passover each year. Her father later became an atheist, her mother a Buddhist. She has a younger brother, Urie (named after Yuri Gagarin), and from her mother’s prior marriage, a half-brother, Jubal, and a half-sister, Sunyata.
She was named after Winona, Minnesota, the nearest city to the rural farmhouse where she was born. Her middle name, Laura, came from Aldous Huxley’s wife Laura, a family friend. Her stage surname came from singer Mitch Ryder, a favorite of her father’s. Family friends included poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti and novelist Philip K. Dick. In 1978, when she was seven, her family moved to a commune called Rainbow near Elk, California, living with seven other families on 300 acres. With no electricity or TV, Ryder spent her time reading and became a devoted fan of J.D. Salinger’s *The Catcher in the Rye*.
At age 10, her family moved to Petaluma, California. During her first week at Kenilworth Junior High, she was bullied by kids who mistook her for an effeminate boy. In 1983, at 12, she began acting lessons at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. That same year, she nearly drowned, which gave her aquaphobia—a problem later during underwater scenes in *Alien Resurrection* (1997), which had to be reshot many times. Bullying continued in high school, even after *Beetlejuice* (1988) became a hit. She recalled in 2017, “I remember thinking, ‘Ooh, it’s like the number one movie. This is going to make things great at school.’ But it made things worse. They called me a witch.”
Ryder has said she is a natural brunette who was “really blonde as a kid” and began dyeing her hair blue and purple around ages 11 or 12. For her *Lucas* (1986) audition, her hair was dyed black, and the filmmakers asked her to keep it—which later almost cost her the breakout role in *Heathers* (1988).
In 1985, she sent a videotaped audition—reciting a monologue from Salinger’s *Franny and Zooey*—for *Desert Bloom*. Though the role went to Annabeth Gish, David Seltzer cast her in *Lucas* (1986). Asked how she wanted her name in the credits, she suggested “Ryder” after a Mitch Ryder album playing in the background. Her next film was *Square Dance* (1987), where she played a teenager bridging a traditional farm and a big city. The *Los Angeles Times* called it “a remarkable debut.” Both films had limited commercial success.
After seeing her in *Lucas*, Tim Burton cast her in *Beetlejuice* (1988) as a goth teen whose family moves into a haunted house. The film was a box office hit, and Ryder’s performance received mostly positive reviews. She has since credited Burton for her career. That same year, she appeared with Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Downey Jr. in *1969*, a Vietnam-era drama.
- born
- October 29, 1971
- field
- Actress
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Beetlejuice (1988), Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Little Women (1994), Stranger Things (2016–2025)
Lore & Background
Winona Laura Horowitz was born in Winona County, Minnesota, on October 29, 1971, the daughter of Cynthia Palmer (née Istas) and Michael D. Horowitz. Cynthia is an author, video producer, and editor, while Michael was an author, editor, publisher, and antiquarian bookseller. He also worked as an archivist for psychologist Timothy Leary, who became Ryder's godfather. Ryder has Irish ancestry through her mother, while her father was of Ashkenazi Jewish descent with roots in Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. Growing up, she visited her paternal grandparents in Brooklyn for Passover every year. Her father later became an atheist and her mother became a Buddhist. She has a younger brother named Urie (in honor of Yuri Gagarin) and, from her mother's prior marriage, a half-brother named Jubal and a half-sister named Sunyata. Ryder was named after Winona, Minnesota, the closest city to the rural farmhouse in which she was born. She was given the middle name Laura after writer Aldous Huxley's wife Laura, with whom her parents were friends. She derived her stage name from singer Mitch Ryder, of whom her father was a fan. Her family's friends included poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti and novelist Philip K. Dick. In 1978, when she was seven years old, she and her family relocated to a commune called Rainbow near Elk, California, where they lived with seven other families on a 300-acre (120 ha) plot of land. As the remote property had no electricity or television sets, Ryder began to devote her time to reading and became an avid fan of J. D. Salinger's book The Catcher in the Rye. When she was 10, Ryder and her family moved to Petaluma, California. During her first week at Kenilworth Junior High School, she was bullied by children who mistook her for an effeminate boy. In 1983, at the age of 12, Ryder enrolled at the American Conservatory Theater in nearby San Francisco and took her first acting lessons. That same year, she nearly drowned, an experience that caused her to develop aquaphobia. This later caused problems in her career, such as during the filming of underwater scenes in Alien Resurrection (1997), which had to be reshot numerous times. Ryder continued to be bullied in high school, even when she achieved early film success with Beetlejuice (1988). She recalled in 2017, "I remember thinking, 'Ooh, it's like the number one movie. This is going to make t
Reader's Guide
Following her film debut in Lucas (1986), Ryder rose to prominence when she starred in the comedy Beetlejuice (1988). Major parts in Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Mermaids (1990), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) came next. She earned two consecutive Oscar nominations—Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress—for her portrayals of a socialite in The Age of Innocence (1993) and Jo March in Little Women (1994), respectively. Her subsequent work included starring roles in Reality Bites (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Celebrity (1998), Girl, Interrupted (1999), and Mr. Deeds (2002). After the significant negative media attention brought by her 2001 arrest for shoplifting, Ryder took a break from acting in the early 2000s. She returned with roles in films such as Star Trek (2009), Black Swan (2010), When Love Is Not Enough (2010), and The Dilemma (2011), before experiencing a career resurgence thanks to her role as Joyce Byers in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016–2025), for which she received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (her third Golden Globe nomination). She has since starred in the HBO miniseries The Plot Against America (2020) and the Beetlejuice sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).
Did You Know?
- Ryder was named after Winona, Minnesota, the closest city to the rural farmhouse in which she was born.
- She derived her stage name from singer Mitch Ryder, of whom her father was a fan.
- Her godfather was psychologist Timothy Leary.
- She nearly drowned at age 12, leading to aquaphobia that caused problems filming underwater scenes in Alien Resurrection.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"A lot of my generation think it’s politically incorrect to like beautiful things. They’re into camp, but it’s not for me. Working on The Age of Innocence spoiled me, because everything I looked at was a work of art." — Winona Ryder "Everyone evolves – except for maybe Beetlejuice maybe... He's like endgame for me. I totally want them [Beetlejuice and Lydia] to be truly together! It's [makes a gesture indicating "crazy"] I know, but..." — Winona Ryder "...I've grown to love and respect this little smartass girl that wouldn't give me an inch years ago, because she's matured too." — Winona Ryder
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