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 (2016–2025), 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.
Known For

The Simpsons

Stranger Things

Late Night with Seth Meyers

Friends

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live

Hot Ones

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
All Movies (78)
- One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 52026 · as Self (uncredited)
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice2024 · as Lydia
- Tim Burton: Life in the Line2024 · as Self
- Haunted Mansion2023 · as Pat (uncredited)
- Gone in the Night2022 · as Kath
- Winona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called2022 · as Self - Actress (archive footage)
- The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon2022 · as Self
- Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony2021 · as Self (archive footage)
- Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine2020 · as Lacey Groin
- Destination Wedding2018 · as Lindsay
- Author: The JT LeRoy Story2016 · as Herself
- Experimenter2015 · as Alexandra "Sasha" Milgram
- Scorsese's Women2014 · as Mask
- Turks & Caicos2014 · as Melanie Fall
- Homefront2013 · as Sheryl Marie Mott
- Ben Lee: Catch My Disease2012 · as Self
- Frankenweenie2012 · as Elsa Van Helsing (voice)
- The Letter2012 · as Martine Jamison
- The Iceman2012 · as Deborah Kuklinski
- Stay Cool2011 · as Scarlet Smith
- Black Swan: Metamorphosis2011 · as Self
- The Dilemma2011 · as Geneva Brannen
- Black Swan2010 · as Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
- When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story2010 · as Lois Wilson
- The Private Lives of Pippa Lee2009 · as Sandra Dulles
- Star Trek2009 · as Amanda Grayson
- Water Pills2009 · as Carrie
- The Informers2008 · as Cheryl Moore
- The Last Word2008 · as Charlotte Morris
- The Blood Is the Life: The Making of 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'2007 · as Self (archive footage)
- Welcome2007 · as Cynthia
- Voom Portraits2007 · as Self
- The Ten2007 · as Kelly La Fonda
- The Darwin Awards2007 · as Siri Taylor
- Sex and Death 1012007 · as Death Nell / Gillian De Raisx (#101)
- Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton2007 · as Self
- One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming 'A Scanner Darkly'2006 · as Self / Donna
- The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales2006 · as Self
- A Scanner Darkly2006 · as Donna Hawthorne
- Nos Bastidores de Hollywood2005 · as Self (archive footage)
- Linklater: St. Richard of Austin2004 · as Self
- The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things2004 · as Psychologist
- Cabin Fever: Beneath the Skin2004 · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- One Step Beyond: The Making of Alien Resurrection2003 · as Self
- 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment2003 · as Self (archive footage)
- Declaration of Independence2003 · as Self
- The Day My God Died2003 · as Narrator (voice)
- S1m0ne2002 · as Nicola Anders
- Mr. Deeds2002 · as Babe Bennett
- Zoolander2001 · as Winona Ryder (uncredited)
- Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads2001 · as Self
- Lost Souls2000 · as Maya Larkin
- Autumn in New York2000 · as Charlotte Fielding
- Girl, Interrupted1999 · as Susanna
- Celebrity1998 · as Nola
- Alien Resurrection1997 · as Call
- The Crucible1996 · as Abigail Williams
- Looking for Richard1996 · as Self / Lady Anne
- Boys1996 · as Patty Vare
- How to Make an American Quilt1995 · as Finn Dodd
- Little Women1994 · as Jo March
- Reality Bites1994 · as Lelaina Pierce
- The House of the Spirits1993 · as Blanca Trueba
- The Age of Innocence1993 · as May Welland
- Innocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence'1993 · as Self
- Blood Lines: Dracula - The Man, The Myth, The Movies1992 · as Self
- Bram Stoker's Dracula1992 · as Mina Murray / Elisabeta
- Night on Earth1991 · as Corky
- Mermaids1990 · as Charlotte Flax
- The Making of Edward Scissorhands1990 · as Self
- Edward Scissorhands1990 · as Kim
- Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael1990 · as Dinky Bossetti
- Great Balls of Fire!1989 · as Myra Gale Brown
- Heathers1989 · as Veronica Sawyer
- 19691988 · as Beth Carr
- Beetlejuice1988 · as Lydia
- Square Dance1987 · as Gemma
- Lucas1986 · as Rina
All TV Shows (21)
- Tim Burton: Life in the Line2025 · as Self
- The Plot Against America2020 · as Evelyn Finkel
- Stranger Things2016 · as Joyce Byers
- Dr. Feelgood2015 · as Self (archive footage)
- Show Me a Hero2015 · as Vinni Restiano
- Hot Ones2015 · as Self
- Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self - Guest
- Drunk History2013 · as Mary Dyer
- Late Night with Jimmy Fallon2009 · as Self - Guest
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show2003 · as Self
- Celebrities Uncensored2003 · as Self
- Strangers with Candy1999 · as Fran
- The Entertainment Biz1998 · as Self
- E! True Hollywood Story1996 · as Self
- Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist1995 · as Winona (voice)
- Friends1994 · as Melissa Warburton
- The Larry Sanders Show1992 · as Winona Ryder
- The Simpsons1989 · as Allison Taylor (voice)
- Saturday Night Live1975 · as Self - Host
- Saturday Night Live1975 · as Self (uncredited)
- The Oscars1953 · as Self