
Winona Ryder
Biography
Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including a Golden Globe Award, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards. She is known for taking on quirky roles in her earlier films, later playing more prominent roles in the 1990s.
After Ryder's film debut in Lucas (1986), she gained attention with her performance in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988). She further rose to prominence with major roles in Heathers (1989), Mermaids (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). She garnered critical acclaim and two consecutive Academy Award nominations for her portrayals of socialite May Welland in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993) and Jo March in the fifth film adaptation of Little Women (1994). Her other films during this period were Reality Bites (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Celebrity (1998), and Girl, Interrupted (1999), which she also executive-produced.
In 2002, Ryder starred in the critically panned box office hit Mr. Deeds, after which her career declined and she took a break from films. In 2009, she returned in the high-profile film Star Trek. In 2010, she was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards: as the lead actress in the television film When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story and as part of the cast of Black Swan. She also reunited with Burton for Frankenweenie (2012). She has starred as Joyce Byers in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things (2016–present), for which she has received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations; and in 2020, she starred in the HBO drama miniseries The Plot Against America.
Her relationship with Johnny Depp in the early 1990s and a 2001 arrest for shoplifting were both subjects of tabloid journalism. She has been open about her personal struggles with anxiety and depression. In 2000, Ryder received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Gallery












Known For
Acting History
2025
Stranger Things 5: The Finale as Joyce Byers
2024Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as Lydia
2024Tim Burton: Life in the Line as Self
2023Haunted Mansion as Pat (uncredited)
2022Gone in the Night as Kath
2022Winona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called as Self - Actress (archive footage)
2022The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon as Self
2021Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony as Self (archive footage)
2020Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine as Lacey Groin
2020The Plot Against America as Evelyn Finkel
2018Destination Wedding as Lindsay
2016Stranger Things as Joyce Byers
2016Author: The JT LeRoy Story as Herself
2015Experimenter as Alexandra "Sasha" Milgram
2015Show Me a Hero as Vinni Restiano
2015Hot Ones as Self
2014Scorsese's Women as Mask
2014Turks & Caicos as Melanie Fall
2014Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
2013Homefront as Sheryl Marie Mott
2013Drunk History as Mary Dyer
2012Ben Lee: Catch My Disease as Self
2012Frankenweenie as Elsa Van Helsing (voice)
2012The Letter as Martine Jamison
2012The Iceman as Deborah Kuklinski
2011Stay Cool as Scarlet Smith
2011Black Swan: Metamorphosis as Self
2011The Dilemma as Geneva Brannen
2010Black Swan as Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
2010When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story as Lois Wilson
2009The Private Lives of Pippa Lee as Sandra Dulles
2009Star Trek as Amanda Grayson
2009Water Pills as Carrie
2009Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as Self - Guest
2008The Informers as Cheryl Moore
2008The Last Word as Charlotte Morris
2007The Blood Is the Life: The Making of 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' as Self (archive footage)
2007Welcome as Cynthia
2007Voom Portraits as Self
2007The Ten as Kelly La Fonda
2007The Darwin Awards as Siri Taylor
2007Sex and Death 101 as Death Nell / Gillian De Raisx (#101)
2007Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton as Self
2006One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming 'A Scanner Darkly' as Self / Donna
2006The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales as Self
2006A Scanner Darkly as Donna Hawthorne
2005Nos Bastidores de Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2004Linklater: St. Richard of Austin as Self
2004The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things as Psychologist
2004Cabin Fever: Beneath the Skin as (archive footage) (uncredited)
2003One Step Beyond: The Making of Alien Resurrection as Self
2003101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment as Self (archive footage)
2003Declaration of Independence as Self
2003Celebrities Uncensored as Self
2003The Day My God Died as Narrator (voice)
2002S1m0ne as Nicola Anders
2002Mr. Deeds as Babe Bennett
2001Zoolander as Winona Ryder (uncredited)
2001Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads as Self
2000Lost Souls as Maya Larkin
2000Autumn in New York as Charlotte Fielding
1999Girl, Interrupted as Susanna
1999Strangers with Candy as Fran
1998Celebrity as Nola
1998The Entertainment Biz as Self
1997Alien Resurrection as Call
1996The Crucible as Abigail Williams
1996Looking for Richard as Self / Lady Anne
1996E! True Hollywood Story as Self
1996Boys as Patty Vare
1995How to Make an American Quilt as Finn Dodd
1995Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist as Winona (voice)
1994Little Women as Jo March
1994Friends as Melissa Warburton
1994Reality Bites as Lelaina Pierce
1993The House of the Spirits as Blanca Trueba
1993The Age of Innocence as May Welland
1993Innocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence' as Self
1992Bram Stoker's Dracula as Mina Murray / Elisabeta
1992The Larry Sanders Show as Winona Ryder
1992Blood Lines: Dracula - The Man. The Myth. The Movies. as Self
1991Night on Earth as Corky
1990Mermaids as Charlotte Flax
1990The Making of Edward Scissorhands as Self
1990Edward Scissorhands as Kim
1990Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael as Dinky Bossetti
1989The Simpsons as Allison Taylor (voice)
1989Great Balls of Fire! as Myra Gale Brown
1988Heathers as Veronica Sawyer
19881969 as Beth Carr
1988Beetlejuice as Lydia
1987Square Dance as Gemma
1986Lucas as Rina
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1953The Oscars as Self
—Untitled Beetlejuice 3 as Lydia Deetz








