Actress. Born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra, on November 19, 1961, in Fairfield, Connecticut. Her mother, Susan, left the family when Ryan was 15 to become an actress; her father, Harry, a high school teacher, was left to raise the couple’s four children. After graduating from high school, she attended New York University, where she studied journalism and supported herself by appearing in commercials. She obtained a Screen Actor’s Guild card under her mother’s maiden name—Ryan—and made a successful film debut in Rich and Famous, directed by George Cukor and starring Candice Bergen; Ryan played the daughter of Bergen’s character. Ryan left college before finishing her degree and began acting on television, appearing in a 1982 ABC Afterschool Special entitled Amy and the Angel before landing a regular stint on the CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns (1982-1984). In 1985, she moved to Los Angeles; her first substantial film role was in the hit film Top Gun (1986), starring Tom Cruise. Her breakthrough role came in 1989, when she starred opposite Billy Crystal in the smart romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally. Ryan’s performance in that hit movie included a much-talked-about scene in a delicatessen in which she demonstrates for Crystal how easy it is for a woman to fake an orgasm; the scene has since been referred to as one of the great comic moments in film history. If When Harry Met Sally was the film that first established her undeniable appeal as a leading actress in romantic comedies, Sleepless in Seattle (1993) was the one that cemented Ryan’s status as “America’s Sweetheart.” The winsome but predictable hit was her second collaborative effort with Tom Hanks—1990’s Joe Versus the Volcano was a flop—as well as with writer-director Nora Ephron, who also penned When Harry Met Sally. Five years later, the team of Ryan, Hanks, and Ephron scored again with You’ve Got Mail, a late-1990s update of the 1940 film Shop Around the Corner. Ryan’s other notable romantic comedies include Prelude to a Kiss (1992), co-starring Alec Baldwin; I.Q. (1994), co-starring Tim Robbins and Walter Matthau; and French Kiss (1995), co-starring Kevin Kline. The last film was the first release from Ryan’s Fox-based production company, Prufrock Pictures. Ryan has generally had less success with her dramatic films, although she has displayed a considerable range stretching far beyond the perky persona showcased in her biggest hits.