WHY IS SHE FAMOUS
Even though it might be hard to believe if you're an avid reader of supermarket tabloids, Winona is known for her impressive movie career and not just for shoplifting. She was in Beetle Juice (1988), Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Reality Bites (1994), Alien: Resurrection (1997), and Mr. Deeds (2002).
Winona Ryder Quote
" For a long time I was almost ashamed of being an actress. I felt like it was a shallow occupation. People would be watching my every move."
78 SEX APPEAL
Winona's sexiness is very discreet. It's obvious that being sultry isn't one of her priorities in life and that's why we find her so hot.
It is also the reason why periodicals like FHM, Empire and Stuff have often ranked her among the sexiest women in the world. We also like the fact that she claims to not be attracted to older men like Richard Gere. Hey, it's one less guy for us to beat up to get to her.
81 SUCCESS
Winona's career began in her teenage years when she appeared in the coming-of-age story Lucas (1986) alongside Corey Haim, Charlie Sheen, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. Two other small movies soon followed: Square Dance (1987) and 1969 (1988) with Kiefer Sutherland.
From that moment on, she no longer lived in Hollywood obscurity. After the successful Beetlejuice (1988), she was in the cult classic Heathers and the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire!, both released in 1989.
She continued to make offbeat films the next year with Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, Edward Scissorhands and Mermaids. Following the independent film Night on Earth (1991), she snatched the lead role in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). In 1993, she was in two period films: Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence and The House of the Spirits with Antonio Banderas and Maria Conchita Alonso.
Ben Stiller's Reality Bites (1994) came next and Little Women was released the same year. After the chick flick How to Make an American Quilt(1995), she was in Boys (1996), The Crucible (1996) and Alien: Resurrection (1997).
Woody Allen next signed her up for Celebrity (1998), after which she appeared in and executive produced the Angelina Jolie vehicle Girl, Interrupted (1999). In 2000, she appeared in Autumn in New York and the supernatural thriller Lost Souls.
She was the love interest in Adam Sandler's Mr. Deeds and a difficult actress in S1m0ne, both 2002 features. Her next moves were to produce and narrate the documentary The Day My God Died (2003) and to play a psychologist in The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004).
Twice nominated for an Oscar, she has also guest-starred on TV shows such as The Simpsons, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, The Larry Sanders Show, Strangers with Candy, and a popular episode of Friends in which she shared a kiss with Jennifer Aniston.
WINONA RYDER BIOGRAPHY
This talented actress has graced the screen and entertainment news for the past two decades, thanks to her roles in more than 25 films and her comprehensive dating history, which is probably just as long as her movie credits.
Winona Laura Horowitz was born October 29, 1971, in Winona, Minnesota (hence her first name). The daughter of Michael and Cindy Horowitz, hippy, free-spirited parents to say the least, Winona's surroundings and childhood were far from normal.
The Horowitz family relocated to an electricity-free commune in Northern California, where Winona and her siblings (Sunyata, Jubal and Uri) did not have the luxury of television. Young Winona instead watched films at a movie theatre that her mother ran in a barn, and delved into literature. Watching classic films piqued her interest in becoming an actress, while her fascination with Holden Caulfield, the alienated hero from The Catcher in the Rye, apparently influenced her choice of childhood and alternative film roles.
When Winona was eight, her parents decided to move back to city life in Petaluma, California. Thin and tomboyish, Winona was bullied by thugs during her first week of school because they mistook her for an effeminate, scrawny boy. This incident led to Winona being home-schooled and eventually studying at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
winona takes on the big screen
While performing on the American Conservatory Theater stage, Winona was spotted by talent scouts who wanted her to audition for a role in Desert Bloom, starring legendary actor Jon Voight. She did not get the part, but her tape made its way to Triad Artists.
Thanks to the agency, Winona was cast in the 1986 film Lucas. Though it was not a very successful film, it was a stepping-stone in Winona's career. At her request, she was credited as Winona Ryder, after a Mitch Ryder album her father owned.
Several forgettable films followed, but Winona finally became recognized after her role in the 1988 Tim Burton comedy Beetlejuice. Her role as the ghost-friendly, dark teen marked the beginning of a string of dark roles for Winona, all of which she portrayed to a tee. Heathers (1989), in which Winona played an equally dark role in an even darker movie, is often considered by her fans to be her best film.
After her performance in Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Winona teamed up with Tim Burton again in what can be considered one of her most memorable parts as the love interest of the freak in the off-beat Edward Scissorhands (1990). That same year, she starred as Cher's daughter in Mermaids.
winona gets serious
Winona was then on to the next chapter of her life, including more mature roles and period films. After her part in the independent film Night on Earth (1991), Winona was cast as what could have been another career-defining role -- Michael Corleone's daughter in The Godfather: Part III. Unfortunately for Winona and the film, the actress had to withdraw from the project due to a respiratory infection.
Winona signed with Creative Artists Agency and got her hands on the script for the Francis Ford Coppola vehicle Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). She approached the legendary director and was cast in the film as the love interest of the bloodsucking count. Winona was all grown up and her career was on the fly.
Donning corsets once again, Winona next starred in The Age of Innocence (1993), co-starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Her work garnered her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Next, Winona juggled the modern times as a Gen-Xer in Reality Bites (1994) with period films, such as the adaptations of The House of the Spirits (1993) and Little Women (1994), which garnered her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. She dedicated Little Women to Polly Klass, a girl from her hometown who was kidnapped and killed.
winona produces her first movie
After roles in the female-bonding flick How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Boys (1996), the adaptation of The Crucible (1996), a visit in space with Alien: Resurrection (1997), and Woody Allen's star-studded Celebrity (1998), co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Famke Janssen and Charlize Theron, Winona starred and acted as executive producer in 1999's film adaptation of Girl, Interrupted, co-starring Angelina Jolie.
Although Winona has been in the Hollywood scene since the mid-'80s, she only made her first talk show appearance in December 1999 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, to promote Girl, Interrupted. Subsequently, she was seen in the tearjerker romance Autumn in New York (2000), co-starring the much older Richard Gere, and appeared soon after in the thriller Lost Souls (2000).
winona is arrested
As she was taking a break from acting, she got herself into trouble. In December 2001, she was shopping at a Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue when she was caught with shoplifted merchandise and illegal pharmaceutical drugs.
At the ensuing much-publicized trial, she was found guilty of vandalism and grand theft and sentenced to $3,700 in fines, 480 hours of community service, three years' probation, and $6,355 in restitution fees.
winona in mr. deeds
After a two-year hiatus, she returned to the big screen in the Adam Sandler comedy Mr. Deeds (2002) and the fantasy S1m0ne (2002). Then, she produced and narrated the child sex slave trade documentary The Day My God Died (2003) before returning to fiction in a small part in Asia Argento's The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004).
Named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997, it's safe to say that not only People finds Winona beautiful, considering the long list of boyfriends and flames she has had. The actress had a three-year engagement to Johnny Depp, a long courtship with David Pirner, and has dated Christian Slater, Daniel Day-Lewis, David Duchovny, Chris Noth, Matt Damon, and Beck... to name a few.
There is more to be said about Winona than her beauty; her wide variety of movie roles, off-screen charm and talent explain her long-term appeal.
