Winona Ryder
- Acting
- October 29, 1971 · Winona, Minnesota, USA
Biography
Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including a Golden Globe Award, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. She is known for taking on quirky roles in her earlier films, later playing more prominent roles in the 1990s. After Ryder's film debut in Lucas (1986), she gained attention with her performance in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988). She further rose to prominence with major roles in Heathers (1989), Mermaids (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). She garnered critical acclaim and two consecutive Academy Award nominations for her portrayals of socialite May Welland in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993) and Jo March in the fifth film adaptation of Little Women (1994). Her other films during this period were Reality Bites (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Celebrity (1998), and Girl, Interrupted (1999), which she also executive-produced. 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 in the high-profile film Star Trek. In 2010, she was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards: as the lead actress in the television film 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). She has starred as Joyce Byers in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things (2016–2025), for which she has received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations; and in 2020, she starred in the HBO drama miniseries The Plot Against America. Her relationship with Johnny Depp in the early 1990s and a 2001 arrest for shoplifting were both subjects of tabloid journalism. She has been open about her personal struggles with anxiety and depression. In 2000, Ryder received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Known for
Filmography
- Stranger Things: Tales from '85 · Thanks
- One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 · Self
- Tim Burton: Life in the Line · Self
- Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow · Self
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice · Lydia
- Haunted Mansion · Pat (uncredited)
- Gone in the Night · Kath
- Winona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called · Self
- The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon · Self
- Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony · Self
- Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine · Lacey Groin
- The Plot Against America · Evelyn Finkel
- Destination Wedding · Lindsay
- The Pacer
- Stranger Things · Joyce Byers
- Author: The JT LeRoy Story · Self
- Dr. Feelgood · Self
- Experimenter · Alexandra "Sasha" Milgram
- Show Me a Hero · Vinni Restiano
- Hot Ones · Self
- Turks & Caicos · Melanie Fall
- Late Night with Seth Meyers · Self
- Homefront · Sheryl Marie Mott
- Drunk History · Mary Dyer
- Ben Lee: Catch My Disease · Self
- Frankenweenie · Elsa Van Helsing (Voice)
- The Letter · Martine Jamison
- The Iceman · Deborah Kuklinski
- Stay Cool · Scarlet Smith
- Black Swan: Metamorphosis · Self, Thanks
- The Dilemma · Geneva Brannen
- Black Swan · Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
- When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story · Lois Wilson
- The Private Lives of Pippa Lee · Sandra Dulles
- Star Trek · Amanda Grayson
- Water Pills · Carrie
- Late Night with Jimmy Fallon · Self
- The Informers · Cheryl Moore
- The Last Word · Charlotte Morris
- The Blood Is the Life: The Making of 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' · Self
- Welcome · Cynthia
- Voom Portraits · Self
- The Ten · Kelly La Fonda
- The Darwin Awards · Siri Taylor
- Sex and Death 101 · Death Nell / Gillian De Raisx (#101)
- Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton · Self
- One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming 'A Scanner Darkly' · Self / Donna
- The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales · Self
- A Scanner Darkly · Donna Hawthorne
- Nos Bastidores de Hollywood · Self
- Linklater: St. Richard of Austin · Self
- The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things · Psychologist
- Cabin Fever: Beneath the Skin · (archive footage) (uncredited)
- One Step Beyond: The Making of Alien Resurrection · Self
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show · Self
- 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment · Self
- Declaration of Independence · Self
- Celebrities Uncensored · Self
- The Day My God Died · Narrator (Voice), Producer
- S1m0ne · Nicola Anders
- Mr. Deeds · Babe Bennett
- Zoolander · Winona Ryder (uncredited)
- Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads · Self
- Lost Souls · Maya Larkin
- Autumn in New York · Charlotte Fielding
- Girl, Interrupted · Susanna, Executive producer
- Strangers with Candy · Fran
- Celebrity · Nola
- The Entertainment Biz · Self
- Alien Resurrection · Call
- The Crucible · Abigail Williams
- Looking for Richard · Self / Lady Anne
- E! True Hollywood Story · Self
- Boys · Patty Vare
- How to Make an American Quilt · Finn Dodd
- Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist · Winona (Voice), Additional Writing
- Little Women · Jo March
- Friends · Melissa Warburton
- Reality Bites · Lelaina Pierce
- The House of the Spirits · Blanca Trueba