By Carmenlita Castillo
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), known professionally as Meg Ryan, is an American actress. Known for playing quirky, charismatic women since the late 1980s, Ryan is particularly recognized for her leading roles in romantic comedies, a genre she dominated during the 1980s and 1990s. Dubbed “America’s Sweetheart” by the media, she became one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars of the latter decade.
She made her acting debut in 1981 in the drama film Rich and Famous. She joined the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982. In the 1980s, Ryan appeared in Top Gun (1986), Promised Land (1987), and the Rob Reiner-directed romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally… (1989), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination.
A prolific actress through the 1990s and 2000s, Ryan starred in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), The Doors (1991), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), French Kiss (1995), Courage Under Fire (1996), Anastasia (1997), Addicted to Love (1997), You’ve Got Mail (1998), City of Angels (1998), Proof of Life (2000), Kate & Leopold (2001), and The Women (2008). In 2015, she made her directorial debut with Ithaca, in which she also starred. After an eight-year hiatus, Ryan returned to the screen in the romantic comedy What Happens Later (2023), which she also directed.
Ryan was born and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan Jordan (née Duggan), a former actress and English teacher, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. Her father is of Polish descent. She was raised Catholic and attended St. Pius X Elementary School in Fairfield. She had two sisters, Dana (d. 2022) and Annie (d. 2019), and has one brother, musician Andrew Hyra, a member of the band Billy Pilgrim. Her parents divorced in 1976 when she was 15.
Ryan graduated from Bethel High School in 1979. She studied journalism as an undergraduate, first at the University of Connecticut and then at New York University. During college, she acted in television commercials and the soap opera As the World Turns to earn extra money. Her success as an actress led her to leave college a semester before she planned to graduate. When she joined the Screen Actors Guild, she used the surname “Ryan”, her maternal grandmother’s maiden name.
Ryan has publicly supported the Democratic Party, especially its environmental protection programs and initiatives. In 2003, she supported Wesley Clark‘s campaign for U.S. president. She later supported John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election campaign.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- George Rogers Clark (military leader) –
- James Garfield (20th U.S. president) –
- Tommy Dorsey (musician) –
- Roy Campanella (baseball player) –
- Larry King (radio & television personality) –
- Dick Cavett (talk show host) –
- Ted Turner (businessman) –
- Calvin Klein (fashion designer) –
- Eileen Collins (astronaut; born in Elmira, NY) –
- Meg Ryan (actress) –
- Jodie Foster (actress) –
Died
- Franz Schubert (composer) –
- Emma Lazarus (poet) –
- Sir Basil Spence (architect) –
- Mike Nichols (director) –
- Ron Hynes (Canadian singer-songwriter) –
- Della Reese (singer and actress) –
- Larry Korn (agricultural educator and author) –
- Rosalynn Smith Carter (U.S. First Lady) –
Events
- Christopher Columbus first sighted what is now Puerto Rico –
- Jay’s Treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain signed –
- President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address –
- Hudson Bay Co. ceded territory to Canada –
- Boss Tweed sentenced to 12 years in prison, New York City –
- Frederick Blaisdell was granted a patent for a paper-wrapped pencil –
- Five-year old TIME magazine presented a cover portrait for the first time –
- Leonard Bernstein appointed Music Director of the New York Philharmonic –
- Ford Motor Co. discontinued the Edsel –
- Pele, Brazilian soccer star, scores his 1000th goal, at Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janiero. –
- John Carpenter became the first contestant to win $1,000,000 on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire –
- David L. Pickens granted patent for registered pedigree “stuffed animals” –
Weather
- Up to 18 inches of snow fell on the Great Plains of Colorado, with 5-foot drifts in suburban Denver –
- Seventy-nine degrees F, Denver, Colorado –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
