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
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
The Simpsons
1989
Saturday Night Live
1975
Saturday Night Live
1975
Friends
1994
Stranger Things
2016
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
Hot Ones
2015
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
2009
The Larry Sanders Show
1992
Edward Scissorhands
1990
Drunk History
2013
Filmography
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self - Guest · 2014
The Simpsons
as Allison Taylor (voice) · 1989
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host · 1975
Saturday Night Live
as Self (uncredited) · 1975
Friends
as Melissa Warburton · 1994
Stranger Things
as Joyce Byers · 2016
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
as Self · 2003
Hot Ones
as Self · 2015
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
as Self - Guest · 2009
The Larry Sanders Show
as Winona Ryder · 1992
Edward Scissorhands
as Kim · 1990
Drunk History
as Mary Dyer · 2013
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
as Winona (voice) · 1995
Black Swan
as Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan · 2010
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
as Lydia · 2024
The Oscars
as Self · 1953
Beetlejuice
as Lydia · 1988
Bram Stoker's Dracula
as Mina Murray / Elisabeta · 1992
Star Trek
as Amanda Grayson · 2009
Alien Resurrection
as Call · 1997
Haunted Mansion
as Pat (uncredited) · 2023
Strangers with Candy
as Fran · 1999
Girl, Interrupted
as Susanna · 1999
Homefront
as Sheryl Marie Mott · 2013
Frankenweenie
as Elsa Van Helsing (voice) · 2012
Little Women
as Jo March · 1994
Mr. Deeds
as Babe Bennett · 2002
Show Me a Hero
as Vinni Restiano · 2015
Zoolander
as Winona Ryder (uncredited) · 2001
Heathers
as Veronica · 1989
Sex and Death 101
as Death Nell / Gillian De Raisx (#101) · 2007
The Age of Innocence
as May Welland · 1993
The Plot Against America
as Evelyn Finkel · 2020
Autumn in New York
as Charlotte Fielding · 2000
Reality Bites
as Lelaina Pierce · 1994
The Crucible
as Abigail Williams · 1996
The House of the Spirits
as Blanca Trueba · 1993
Destination Wedding
as Lindsay · 2018
The Dilemma
as Geneva Brannen · 2011
Tim Burton: Life in the Line
as Self · 2025
A Scanner Darkly
as Donna Hawthorne · 2006
One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5
as Self (uncredited) · 2026
The Entertainment Biz
as Self · 1998
Mermaids
as Charlotte Flax · 1990
Night on Earth
as Corky · 1991
The Informers
as Cheryl Moore · 2008
The Darwin Awards
as Siri Taylor · 2007
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
as Sandra Dulles · 2009
Lost Souls
as Maya Larkin · 2000
Gone in the Night
as Kath · 2022
The Iceman
as Deborah Kuklinski · 2012
E! True Hollywood Story
as Self · 1996
How to Make an American Quilt
as Finn Dodd · 1995
Celebrity
as Nola · 1998
Great Balls of Fire!
as Myra Gale Brown · 1989
S1m0ne
as Nicola Anders · 2002
Lucas
as Rina · 1986
Experimenter
as Alexandra "Sasha" Milgram · 2015
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
as Psychologist · 2004
The Ten
as Kelly La Fonda · 2007
Turks & Caicos
as Melanie Fall · 2014
Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow
as Self - 'Stranger Things' Joyce Byers (archive footage) · 2025
The Letter
as Martine Jamison · 2012
Looking for Richard
as Self / Lady Anne · 1996
Boys
as Patty Vare · 1996
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
as Dinky Bossetti · 1990
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
as Self (archive footage) · 2021
Dr. Feelgood
as Self (archive footage) · 2015
Stay Cool
as Scarlet Smith · 2011
Winona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called
as Self - Actress (archive footage) · 2022
The Last Word
as Charlotte Morris · 2008
When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story
as Lois Wilson · 2010
Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine
as Lacey Groin · 2020
The Blood Is the Life: The Making of 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'
as Self (archive footage) · 2007
Author: The JT LeRoy Story
as Herself · 2016
101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment
as Self (archive footage) · 2003
Nos Bastidores de Hollywood
as Self (archive footage) · 2005
Innocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence'
as Self · 1993
Cabin Fever: Beneath the Skin
as (archive footage) (uncredited) · 2004
One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming 'A Scanner Darkly'
as Self / Donna · 2006
Square Dance
as Gemma · 1987
Black Swan: Metamorphosis
as Self · 2011
1969
as Beth Carr · 1988
Water Pills
as Carrie · 2009
One Step Beyond: The Making of Alien Resurrection
as Self · 2003
Ben Lee: Catch My Disease
as Self · 2012
The Making of Edward Scissorhands
as Self · 1990
Welcome
as Cynthia · 2007
Blood Lines: Dracula - The Man, The Myth, The Movies
as Self · 1992
The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales
as Self · 2006
Declaration of Independence
as Self · 2003
Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton
as Self · 2007
The Day My God Died
as Narrator (voice) · 2003
The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon
as Self · 2022
Linklater: St. Richard of Austin
as Self · 2004
Voom Portraits
as Self · 2007
Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads
as Self · 2001
The Pacer
· 2017
Celebrities Uncensored
as Self · 2003