Winona Ryder Biography, Career, Net Worth, And Other Interesting Facts

Winona Ryder is an American actress born on October 29, 1971. At the beginning of her career, she became famous for her unique roles and continued to impress audiences with her performances across various genres in the 1990s. Ryder has received many awards, including a Golden Globe, and she’s been nominated for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA, and even a Grammy.

Her career took off after her debut in the movie Lucas in 1986. One of her standout roles was as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice in 1988. She continued to shine in films like Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands, Mermaids (both 1990), and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). Ryder earned back-to-back Oscar nominations for her roles in The Age of Innocence (1993) and Little Women (1994).

Throughout the 1990s, she starred in various films such as Reality Bites (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Celebrity (1998), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Autumn in New York (2000), and Mr. Deeds (2002).

Ryder took a break from acting in the early 2000s but returned with roles in films like A Scanner Darkly (2006), Star Trek (2009), Black Swan (2010), and The Dilemma (2011). She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role in the television film When Love Is Not Enough (2010). Since 2016, she’s been known for her role as Joyce Byers in the Netflix series Stranger Things, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She’s also appeared in the HBO miniseries The Plot Against America (2020).

Winona Ryder’s Early Life and Education

Winona Ryder was born in Winona County, Minnesota. Her parents, Cynthia Palmer and Michael D. Horowitz have diverse careers: her mom writes and produces videos, while her dad is an author, editor, and book expert. He even worked with the famous psychologist Timothy Leary.

Winona’s family roots trace back to Ukraine and Romania, and they celebrate Jewish holidays, like Passover, with her paternal grandparents in Brooklyn. She got her name from her birthplace, Winona, and her middle name, Laura, from her parents’ friend Laura Huxley, the wife of Aldous Huxley, a well-known writer. Her stage name, Ryder, comes from her dad’s admiration for the singer Mitch Ryder.

Growing up, Winona’s family was connected with some influential figures like Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Philip K. Dick. When she was seven, they moved to a commune in California, living off the grid without electricity or TVs. This environment fueled Winona’s love for reading.

At ten, they moved to Petaluma, California, where Winona faced bullying at school. Despite the challenges, she pursued acting lessons at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco when she was twelve. However, she faced another challenge when she almost drowned, which led to her fear of water.

Throughout high school, Winona continued to face bullying, even as she found success in acting in movies like “Beetlejuice.” Despite the difficulties, she graduated with top honors.

Winona has always experimented with her hair, from a young age when she dyed it blue and purple. When she auditioned for a movie, her hair was black, and the filmmakers liked it that way.

Career

1985–1990: Early roles and breakthrough

In 1985, Winona Ryder tried out for a part in the movie Desert Bloom by sending in a video of her acting. She didn’t get that role, but the director of another movie, Lucas, liked her and gave her a part in his film. When they asked how she wanted her name to appear in the credits, she chose “Ryder” because of a music album her dad liked. Her first big movie, Square Dance, got her noticed, but it didn’t do great at the box office.

Then, she got a role in Beetlejuice, where she played a spooky teenager in a haunted house. People liked the movie, and Winona’s acting was praised. That same year, she was in a movie called 1969, about the Vietnam War.

In 1989, she starred in Heathers, a dark comedy about high school life where she played a girl who helps her boyfriend kill off popular kids. Even though some people thought it might hurt her career, critics loved her performance. Another movie she was in that year was Great Balls of Fire!, where she played the young wife of a famous musician.

In the early 1990s, Winona had some big roles. She was in Edward Scissorhands, a fantasy movie directed by Tim Burton, and she starred in Mermaids alongside Cher. She played a teenager going through a tough time in Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael. Even though that movie didn’t do well, she got noticed for her acting. She was also supposed to be in The Godfather Part III, but she had to drop out because she was too stressed.

1991–1995: Major roles

In 1991, Winona Ryder played a young taxi driver in a cool movie called Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch. It wasn’t shown everywhere, but people who watched it liked it. After that, she starred in three big movies based on famous books.

The first was Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Winona played two roles, Mina Murray and Princess Elisabeta. Originally, the story was meant for TV, but Winona loved it so much she got Coppola interested. It came out in November 1992 and was a big hit with both critics and audiences.

 Then in 1993, Winona was in The Age of Innocence directed by Martin Scorsese. It’s based on a book by Edith Wharton. Winona won a Golden Globe for her role as May Welland. Even though it wasn’t a huge money-maker, critics loved it.

In the same year, she starred in The House of the Spirits alongside Meryl Streep and others. Sadly, this one didn’t do well at the box office or with critics, but some people thought Winona’s acting was good.

She was supposed to be in a movie called Broken Dreams with River Phoenix, but it got canceled because he passed away in 1993. That same year, Winona was in a music video for Without a Trace by Soul Asylum.

In 1994, she was in Reality Bites, a movie about young adults trying to figure out their lives. It didn’t make as much money as expected, but Winona’s acting was praised. Later that year, she was in Little Women as Jo March. Critics loved it, and Winona got her second Oscar nomination for her role.

In 1995, Winona starred in How to Make an American Quilt, based on a book. It made a good amount of money and had mixed reviews. She also narrated Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl and was nominated for a Grammy. Critics liked her narration, saying she sounded just right for the part.

1996–2000: Further lead roles

Winona Ryder appeared in a few movies in 1996. The first one, called Boys, didn’t do well at the box office and got mostly bad reviews. A critic called Ebert said it was like a cheap, not-as-good version of another movie. Then she was in a movie called Looking for Richard, which didn’t make much money but people thought it was okay. After that, she was in The Crucible, based on a play about the Salem witch trials. Even though it didn’t make much money, people liked it, especially Ryder’s acting.

Next, Ryder played an android in Alien Resurrection in 1997. Even though the movie wasn’t a big hit in the Alien series, it made a lot of money overall. People thought Ryder and Sigourney Weaver did a good job acting, and Ryder won an award for it. However, a critic named Ebert said Ryder didn’t fit in well with the rest of the cast.

In 1998, Ryder was in a play called The Vagina Monologues and a movie called Celebrity, which makes fun of famous people. She also appeared in a music video and worked on a project about the Holocaust. She was part of the jury at a film festival.

In 1999, Ryder starred in and helped produce a movie called Girl, Interrupted based on a true story. She played a character with a mental disorder. Even though people thought she did a good job, the movie was more famous for launching Angelina Jolie‘s career. Ryder was also featured in a parody of South Park and started her own music company.

In 2000, Ryder got an award at a film festival. She was in a movie with Richard Gere called Autumn in New York, which did okay in theaters. She also made a guest appearance on a TV show and starred in a movie called Lost Souls, where she played a nun trying to stop the end of the world. Even though it didn’t do well, Ryder liked the challenge of playing that role. She got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that year too.

2001–2005: Hiatus

In 2001, Winona Ryder took a break from acting that lasted four years. She only made a brief appearance on the TV show Friends and had a small role in the movie Zoolander. She was supposed to be in another movie called Lily and the Secret of Planting, but she got sick and had to quit. Then, in December 2001, she got arrested for shoplifting, which made it hard for her to get roles in new movies because the people making the movies couldn’t get insurance for her.

Woody Allen wanted her to be in his movie Melinda and Melinda, but he couldn’t because the insurance companies wouldn’t cover her. He was disappointed because he had worked with her before and wanted to work with her again.

In 2002, Ryder was in two movies that were filmed before she got arrested. One was Mr. Deeds, a comedy with Adam Sandler, which made a lot of money but didn’t get good reviews. The other was Simone, a sci-fi movie where she played a famous actress who was replaced by a computer-generated version of herself. She also hosted Saturday Night Live that year.

In 2005, Ryder worked on a documentary called The Day My God Died with Tim Robbins. It’s about child sex trafficking around the world.

2006–2015: Career revival

Winona Ryder came back to acting in 2006 and 2007, appearing in some indie films. In one called The Darwin Awards, she starred with Joseph Fiennes. Then, she was in A Scanner Darkly, which turned live-action scenes into animation. It had famous actors like Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr.

After that, she showed up in a comedy called “The Ten” and another film called Sex and Death 101. She also acted in a scary short film called Welcome and made a quick appearance in a music video.

In 2008, Ryder played the main female role in a romantic drama called The Last Word. She also starred in Star Trek as Spock’s mom and was praised for her return to the big screen.

In 2009, she was in a movie with Robin Wright and Julianne Moore called The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.

The next year, she had a big supporting role in Black Swan and starred in a film called Stay Cool. She also acted in a TV movie about the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, earning a nomination for her role.

Ryder appeared in The Dilemma in 2011 and then played the wife of a contract killer in The Iceman in 2012. She also worked with Tim Burton again and guest-hosted a classic film channel.

In 2013, she was in Homefront and had a role in Drunk History. She continued acting, appearing in a British TV film and modeling for a fashion brand.

In 2015, she was a juror at a film festival and acted in an HBO miniseries called Show Me a Hero. She also starred in a biopic called Experimenter and appeared in ads for a fashion brand.

2016–present

Since 2016, Winona Ryder has been on the hit Netflix show Stranger Things. She plays Joyce Byers, a mom whose son disappears. People love her intense acting in the show, and it’s won awards. She’s paid a lot for each episode. The show had to pause filming because of COVID-19 but started again later.

One song by Kate Bush became popular after it was used in Stranger Things scenes where Winona Ryder’s character wore Kate Bush stuff.

In 2018, she was in a movie called Destination Wedding with Keanu Reeves. They’ve worked together before. She’s also been in ads for L’Oréal and H&M.

In 2020, she was in a Super Bowl commercial for Squarespace and a show called The Plot Against America.

In 2021, she was in an ad with Timothée Chalamet for Cadillac and a movie called Gone in the Night.

Since the 90s, Winona Ryder has wanted to do a sequel to Beetlejuice. She confirmed in 2015 that she’d do it if Tim Burton and Michael Keaton were involved. It’s finally happening with filming done in 2023 for a 2024 release.

Personal life

Winona Ryder lives in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Williamsburg, New York City. She’s Jewish and has faced antisemitism. She struggles with insomnia and has been stalked.

She thanks director Tim Burton for her career.

Since she was in her twenties, Winona has been helping out with the American Indian College Fund. This organization helps Native Americans from low-income families go to college.

Relationships

Winona Ryder started dating Johnny Depp after they met at the premiere of Great Balls of Fire! in June 1989. She was just 17 at the time. They got engaged in 1990 but broke up in 1993. After that, she dated Dave Pirner from the band Soul Asylum and Page Hamilton from the band Helmet. She also had a relationship with actor Matt Damon from 1998 to 2000. Since 2011, she’s been with fashion designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn.

Polly Klaas

In 1993, Winona Ryder offered a reward to help find Polly Klaas, a child who was kidnapped. Polly lived in the same town as Winona, Petaluma. Winona offered $200,000 to anyone who could bring Polly back safely. Sadly, Polly didn’t make it back alive. But Winona remembered her by dedicating her role as Jo in the movie Little Women, which was one of Polly’s favorite books.

In 2001, during a hearing about Winona’s shoplifting incident, her lawyer mentioned her work with the Polly Klaas Foundation and other charities. But the Deputy District Attorney didn’t like this. She thought it was wrong to bring up a dead child in this context. Polly’s dad, Marc Klaas, supported Winona and was angry at the prosecutor’s words.

2001 arrest

In 2001, Winona Ryder got in trouble for shoplifting in Beverly Hills. She was accused of taking about $5,500 worth of fancy clothes and stuff from Saks Fifth Avenue. The Los Angeles District Attorney brought four serious charges against her, but she got a famous lawyer named Mark Geragos to help her out. They couldn’t make a deal, though.

They said she was also using drugs without a prescription, like oxycodone and Vicodin. But it turned out a doctor had given them to her for a medical reason, so they dropped that charge. She got convicted of stealing and had to do three years of probation, lots of community service, and pay back the store. Plus, she had to go to counseling.

In 2004, a judge said she did her community service and downgraded her crimes to misdemeanors. She finished her probation in 2005.

Winona said it happened when she was having a hard time in her life. She blamed the drugs a doctor had given her, saying they made her judgment all messed up. That doctor ended up losing his medical license for how he prescribed medicine to people.

Filmography and awards

Winona Ryder got noticed by the folks at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for these great performances: At the 1994 Oscars (66th Academy Awards), she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Age of Innocence.

At the 1995 Oscars (67th Academy Awards), she was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Little Women.

Apart from the Oscars, she also got nominated for three Golden Globe Awards (and won one), one British Academy Film Award, seven Screen Actor Guild Awards (and won one), and even a Grammy Award nomination.

Net Worth

Winona Ryder’s Net Worth is estimated to be $18 million as of 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth.