Meg Ryan

Find Meg Ryan stuff here.

So, your not "aged" yet and have no idea who Meg Ryan is and still is. With the women... hey, listen up, this will help you... as I was saying, with women, there are two movies that Meg is famous for, "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've got Mail." I've seen them both and undoubtedly they are both "chick-flick," meaning that those movies are geared toward women. I suggest, if you are single, to make sure you know about these two movies. Rent them for a date or something or buy them as gifts but know about them.

Now, with that being said, you must see the movie "Courage Under Fire." Go. Now. I'll wait until you've finished watching...

Wasn't it awesome? To me it shows an incredible actor doing a 180° turn on what she was known for and, for me, the story was about honor and truth.

To let you know if you haven't listen to me and read on, it's a historical-fiction story about the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqis. Denzel Washington is a Abrahms commander and Meg is a Huey pilot. Go see it, I mean it.

Meg was born on November 19, 1961 in Fairfield. Connecticut as, take a deep breath, Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra. I see why she shortened it. She is 5' 8" [1.73 m] tall... yeah, right, and I'm 5' 8" too. Maybe she plays on some sports team and needs to inflate her stats?

Factoids:

• Graduated from Bethel High School. Was Prom Queen. [1979]
• Ranked #57 in Premiere (USA) magazine's "The 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood" list.
• Ranked #59 on Entertainment Weekly's most powerful people in Hollywood [1998]
• Voted most favorite female movie star by the readers and online users of the "People Weekly Magazine" [April 1998]
• Has a son, Jack Henry Quaid.
• Met actor Anthony Edwards during the making of the film Top Gun (1986) and moved in with him. They were a couple until she met actor Dennis Quaid during the film Innerspace (1987), and she moved in with and eventually married him. Both actors portrayed military fighter pilots in their respective roles. (Did you catch that Naval Aviators? -ed.)
• Turned down the Sharon Stone role in Basic Instinct (1992)
• "Meg Ryan" is an anagram of "Germany". (Wonder if that is on purpose or someone has too much time on their hands, like me. -ed.)
• Savage Garden's song 'All Around Me' was written about her, inspired by a crush from Daniel Jones, the band's composer.
• Member of jury Festival International de Cannes 2003
• Took three weeks of boxing lessons, to prepare for her role in Against the Ropes (2004); Ryan wanted to understand the sport, and the terms her character would use.
• Shares a birthday with Jodie Foster, Terry Farrell, and Allison Janney.
• Shared an L.A. house with Daphne Zuniga when both were struggling actresses
• She and actor Tom Hanks have been co-stars in three movies as love interests: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), and You've Got Mail (1998)
• Did several national commercials as a teenager for Barbie and other products.
• Voted "cutest" girl in school, class secretary, and homecoming queen her senior year of high school.
• Made a memorably unforthcoming appearance on a British chat show hosted by Michael Parkinson. The October 2003 episode of Parkinson's chat show has become part of British television history due to the actress' bizarre behavior in which she gave only one word answers to questions and stared icily at the host. Ryan appeared on the program to promote her erotic thriller, In the Cut (2003), but refused to answer Parkinson's questions about the drastic change from her typical romantic comedy roles. At one point, Parkinson said in exasperation, "What would you do now if you were me?" to which Ryan replied, "Why not wrap it up?" About the televised debacle, Parkinson later said that Ryan was his "most difficult TV moment." He felt her rude behavior toward his fellow guests, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, whom she deliberately turned her back on, was unforgivable. Parkinson said, "I should have closed it. But listen, it happens. She was an unhappy woman. I felt sorry for her. What I couldn't forgive her for was that she was rude to the other guests." In a 2006 interview with "Marie Claire" magazine, Ryan blamed Parkinson's paternal manner for the failure of the interview. Ryan said, "I don't even know the man. That guy was like some disapproving father! It's crazy. I don't know what he is to you guys, but he's a nut. I felt like he was berating me for being naked in the movie. He said something like: 'You should go back to doing what you were doing.' And I thought, are you like a disapproving dad right now? I'm not even related to you. Back off, buddy. I was so offended by him." Ryan also underscored the difference between American and British TV interviewing styles. "I realized it's not like an American talk show where it's seven minutes and then there's a commercial break. I had to do 20 minutes straight with this guy, and I could either walk off -- which wouldn't be good -- or try to disagree with him very respectfully".
• Adopted daughter Daisy True from China in January 2006.
• Turned down the role of "Molly Jensen" in Ghost (1990). The part later went to Demi Moore.
• Turned down the role of "Vivian Ward" in Pretty Woman (1990). Julia Roberts was later given the role.
• Turned down the role of Clarice Starling, in the movie The Silence of the Lambs (1991). The part went to Jodie Foster.
• Has twice played Candice Bergen's daughter, first in Rich and Famous (1981) and again in The Women (2008).
• Her first film audition was for the role played by Brooke Shields in Endless Love (1981).
• Was in consideration for the part of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) but Uma Thurman, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
• Was offered the role of Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie in Steel Magnolias (1989), but she turned it down in order to film When Harry Met Sally... (1989). Julia Roberts, who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Quotes:

• The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia. Definitely.
• Clearly romantic comedy is my franchise genre, I don't mind saying that, it's true. I love doing them and hopefully always will do them. I don't feel particularly typecast because I think I do so many different kinds of things. Whether they're seen or not is another issue.
• On why she hasn't been working very much recently - I've been famous since I was a teenager. There are a lot of empty spaces in that. I just feel like I've been filling in the cracks a little bit. I feel very fortunate, very free. (2008)

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Find more Meg Ryan stuff here.

Find more Meg Ryan stuff here.