Meg Ryan.Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImage
Having starred in beloved films likeWhen Harry Met SallyandSleepless in Seattle,Meg Ryancemented her status as the perennial queen of romantic comedies in the 1990s.
Now, the actress is returning to the big screen in a comedy she created,What Happens Later,in theaters on Nov. 3.
As she opens up to PEOPLE about life lately, take a look at Meg Ryan’s lengthy life and career in photos.
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Meg Ryan’s Early Years
Meg Ryan’s Early Years.Wyatt Counts via AP
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Meg Ryan on ‘As the World Turns’
Meg Ryan on ‘As the World Turns’.CBS via Getty
03of 18Meg Ryan in ‘Top Gun’Meg Ryan in ‘Top Gun’.Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection"I remember when we … looked at Meg’s test,“Top GunstarTom Cruisesaid of Ryan’s casting in the 1986 classic during a chat withHuffPost.“She was just a lightbulb. She just burst in the room. That smile, glow.“The actress portrayed Carole Bradshaw, wife of Anthony Edwards’ Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, though didn’t return for the 2022 sequel,Maverick.“I didn’t want every storyline to always be looking backwards,“director Joseph Kosinski toldInsider. “It was important to introduce some new characters.”
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Meg Ryan in ‘Top Gun’
Meg Ryan in ‘Top Gun’.Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I remember when we … looked at Meg’s test,“Top GunstarTom Cruisesaid of Ryan’s casting in the 1986 classic during a chat withHuffPost.“She was just a lightbulb. She just burst in the room. That smile, glow.”
The actress portrayed Carole Bradshaw, wife of Anthony Edwards' Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, though didn’t return for the 2022 sequel,Maverick.“I didn’t want every storyline to always be looking backwards,“director Joseph Kosinski toldInsider. “It was important to introduce some new characters.”
04of 18Meg Ryan in ‘When Harry Met Sally’Meg Ryan in ‘When Harry Met Sally’.Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/ShutterstockEveryone wanted what Ryan was having when she played oppositeBilly Crystalin the 1989 rom-com. The role of Sally Albright set Ryan on the romantic leading lady course that carried her career through the next decade-plus. It also earned the actress her first of three Golden Globe Award nominations for best actress.
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Meg Ryan in ‘When Harry Met Sally’
Meg Ryan in ‘When Harry Met Sally’.Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock
Everyone wanted what Ryan was having when she played oppositeBilly Crystalin the 1989 rom-com. The role of Sally Albright set Ryan on the romantic leading lady course that carried her career through the next decade-plus. It also earned the actress her first of three Golden Globe Award nominations for best actress.
05of 18Meg Ryan in ‘Joe Versus the Volcano’Meg Ryan in ‘Joe Versus the Volcano’.Warner Brothers/GettyRyan teamed up withTom Hanksfor the very first time in the the 1990 comedy, in which she played three characters.“It’s kind of way out there,“she said in a 1990 interview. “It’s a real fantasy, a real fairytale.”
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Meg Ryan in ‘Joe Versus the Volcano’
Meg Ryan in ‘Joe Versus the Volcano’.Warner Brothers/Getty
Ryan teamed up withTom Hanksfor the very first time in the the 1990 comedy, in which she played three characters.
“It’s kind of way out there,“she said in a 1990 interview. “It’s a real fantasy, a real fairytale.”
06of 18Meg Ryan in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’Meg Ryan in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’.TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionRyan and Hanks’ classic 1993 rom-com made more than $225 million at the box office andremains a fan favorite today.“These people romance each other from opposite ends of the continent — an emotionalism of a romance,“Ryan, who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role, saidat the time. “They’re a good match. They’re different yet the same.“In the years that followed, Ryan continued her box office successes with films includingWhen a Man Loves a Woman, French Kiss, Addicted to LoveandCity of Angels.
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Meg Ryan in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’
Meg Ryan in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’.TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Ryan and Hanks’ classic 1993 rom-com made more than $225 million at the box office andremains a fan favorite today.
“These people romance each other from opposite ends of the continent — an emotionalism of a romance,“Ryan, who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role, saidat the time. “They’re a good match. They’re different yet the same.”
In the years that followed, Ryan continued her box office successes with films includingWhen a Man Loves a Woman, French Kiss, Addicted to LoveandCity of Angels.
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Meg Ryan in ‘You’ve Got Mail’
Meg Ryan in ‘You’ve Got Mail’.Hulton Archive/Getty
“He’s just so easy,“Ryan saidof working with Hanks in an interview withSleepless in Seattleproducer Gary Foster. “He listens; he roots for other people. [He] doesn’t like there to be drama. I feel the same way. We’re just really there to have fun, this is supposed to be a creative experience and there’s no reason to get heavy.”
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Meg Ryan in ‘Kate & Leopold’
Meg Ryan in ‘Kate & Leopold’.Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection
09of 18Meg Ryan on ‘Web Therapy’Meg Ryan on ‘Web Therapy’.Showtime/courtesy Everett CollectionBy the 2010s, Ryan had pulled back from the spotlight almost completely, appearing on a few episodes ofLisa Kudrow’sWeb Therapy,and both directing and acting in 2015’sIthacaalongside Hanks and her own son,Jack Quaid.In a 2013 PEOPLE story, friends of the star said she preferred to focus on her personal life, away from Hollywood.Living in New York “makes you different,” her friend, writer Delia Ephron, explained. “Los Angeles is just about movies. New York is about so much more than that, and so is Meg.”
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Meg Ryan on ‘Web Therapy’
Meg Ryan on ‘Web Therapy’.Showtime/courtesy Everett Collection
By the 2010s, Ryan had pulled back from the spotlight almost completely, appearing on a few episodes ofLisa Kudrow’sWeb Therapy,and both directing and acting in 2015’sIthacaalongside Hanks and her own son,Jack Quaid.
In a 2013 PEOPLE story, friends of the star said she preferred to focus on her personal life, away from Hollywood.
Living in New York “makes you different,” her friend, writer Delia Ephron, explained. “Los Angeles is just about movies. New York is about so much more than that, and so is Meg.”
10of 18Meg Ryan and Dennis QuaidMeg Ryan and Dennis Quaid.Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via GettyRyan and actorDennis Quaidmet in 1988 while filming the movieD.O.A.and wed three years later, eventually welcoming son Jack.In 2000, they split.“When we met I was the big deal,“Quaid told Megyn Kellyyears later, adding that his career later stalled while Ryan’s skyrocketed in the ’90s. “We’d go out on the streets of New York and it would be like, ‘Meg! Meg!’ And I have to admit it, I actually did feel like I disappeared. I didn’t think I was that small, but I was. It was a growth opportunity — I learned from that.“Despite the pair’s divorce, he called their time together “the most successful relationship of my life.”
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Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid
Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid.Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Ryan and actorDennis Quaidmet in 1988 while filming the movieD.O.A.and wed three years later, eventually welcoming son Jack.In 2000, they split.
“When we met I was the big deal,“Quaid told Megyn Kellyyears later, adding that his career later stalled while Ryan’s skyrocketed in the ’90s. “We’d go out on the streets of New York and it would be like, ‘Meg! Meg!’ And I have to admit it, I actually did feel like I disappeared. I didn’t think I was that small, but I was. It was a growth opportunity — I learned from that.”
Despite the pair’s divorce, he called their time together “the most successful relationship of my life.”
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Meg Ryan and Son Jack Quaid
Meg Ryan and Son Jack Quaid.Vince Bucci/Getty
12of 18Meg Ryan and Russell CroweMeg Ryan and Russell Crowe.Steve Granitz Archive 1/WireImageRyan andRussell Crowemet on the set of 2000’sProof of Lifeand dated briefly afterward, keeping the relationship low-key, according to a PEOPLE story at the time.
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Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe
Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe.Steve Granitz Archive 1/WireImage
Ryan andRussell Crowemet on the set of 2000’sProof of Lifeand dated briefly afterward, keeping the relationship low-key, according to a PEOPLE story at the time.
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Meg Ryan and Daughter Daisy
Meg Ryan and Daughter Daisy.Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty
She continued, “I just can’t imainge what it was like before she came. Life is good, it’s so good with her in it. She and Jack get along great. All of us fit together beautifully.”
14of 18Meg Ryan and John MellencampMeg Ryan and John Mellencamp.Venturelli/GettyMost recently, Ryandated singer John Mellencamp; the two were also engaged for a time. But after nearly eight years of on-again, off-again, they split for good in 2019.“John and Meg have had a volatile relationship from the beginning,” a source close to Mellencamp told PEOPLE. “They love each other, but there are disagreements which can become issues.”
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Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp
Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp.Venturelli/Getty
Most recently, Ryandated singer John Mellencamp; the two were also engaged for a time. But after nearly eight years of on-again, off-again, they split for good in 2019.
“John and Meg have had a volatile relationship from the beginning,” a source close to Mellencamp told PEOPLE. “They love each other, but there are disagreements which can become issues.”
15of 18Meg Ryan in 2019Meg Ryan in 2019.Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCMIn 2019, Ryan stylishly hit the carpet for a 30th annviersary screening ofWhen Harry Met Sallyat the TCM Classic Film Festival. There, she joined director Rob Reiner and costar Crystal.
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Meg Ryan in 2019
Meg Ryan in 2019.Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM
In 2019, Ryan stylishly hit the carpet for a 30th annviersary screening ofWhen Harry Met Sallyat the TCM Classic Film Festival. There, she joined director Rob Reiner and costar Crystal.
16of 18Meg Ryan in 2021Meg Ryan in 2021.Taylor Hill/WireImageDespite keeping a low profile, Ryan stepped out again in shimmering black for the 2021 amfAR Gala Los Angeles.
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Meg Ryan in 2021
Meg Ryan in 2021.Taylor Hill/WireImage
Despite keeping a low profile, Ryan stepped out again in shimmering black for the 2021 amfAR Gala Los Angeles.
17of 18Meg Ryan in 2023Meg Ryan and Michael J. Fox.Michael Simon/ShutterstockMost recently, Ryan joined longtime friendMichael J. Foxat a screening of his new documentary,Still,in N.Y.C.
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Meg Ryan in 2023
Meg Ryan and Michael J. Fox.Michael Simon/Shutterstock
Most recently, Ryan joined longtime friendMichael J. Foxat a screening of his new documentary,Still,in N.Y.C.
18of 18Meg Ryan on PEOPLEMeg Ryan in PEOPLE.John RussoIn October 2023,Ryan sat down with PEOPLEto talk about her upcoming projects — and her decision to step back from the limelight.“I took a giant break because I felt like there’s just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop,” she said. “It’s nice to think of [acting] as a job and not a lifestyle. And that is a great way of navigating it for me.“Next up, she stars in, directedand cowrote the new rom-comWhat Happens Later, about ex-lovers snowed in together overnight at a regional airport. The film hits theaters on Nov. 3.
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Meg Ryan on PEOPLE
Meg Ryan in PEOPLE.John Russo
John Russo
In October 2023,Ryan sat down with PEOPLEto talk about her upcoming projects — and her decision to step back from the limelight.
“I took a giant break because I felt like there’s just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop,” she said. “It’s nice to think of [acting] as a job and not a lifestyle. And that is a great way of navigating it for me.”
Next up, she stars in, directedand cowrote the new rom-comWhat Happens Later, about ex-lovers snowed in together overnight at a regional airport. The film hits theaters on Nov. 3.
source: people.com
