Margaret Mary Emily Ann Hyra was born on November 19, 1961 in
Fairfield, Connecticut to Harry, a teacher, and Susan, a teacher turned actress
and casting agent. When Megan was 15 years old, her mother left the family,
including Meg, her two sisters and one brother, to pursue her acting career. Her
parents divorced in 1976, and Meg stayed with her father. In 1979, Meg was prom
queen and then graduated from Bethel High School in Bethel, Connecticut. She
then went on to the University of Connecticut and began acting in commercials to
help defer the cost of her tuition. Her mother helped Meg to gain membership in
the Screen Actors Guild, and when she did, she used her mother's maiden name
which is why she is known to us as Meg Ryan instead of Meg Hyra.
In 1981, Meg Ryan appeared in her first film, Rich and
Famous (1981), alongside Candice Bergen. After that, she dropped out
of college to pursue her acting career full-time. She was then cast as the
character Betsy in As the World turns, a role that she kept until 1984.
After a few television appearances, Meg went straight to the big screen. Her
next film was Top Gun (1986), but the film that solidified her as a true
star was When Harry Met Sally (1989). Since then, Meg Ryan has starred in
countless films, her most recent including Against the Ropes (2004),
The Tortilla Curtain (2005), Papa (2005), and In the Land of
Women (2006). Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid also founded a production company, Prufrock Picturess (formerly Fandango Films) in 1994, but it was shut down in
2000.
Meg Ryan met 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 on February 14, 1991. Their son, Jack Henry
Quaid, was born on April 24, 1992. Since her divorce from Dennis Quaid on July
16th, 2001, Meg has been linked romantically to actors Russell Crowe,
John Cusack, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon, Craig Bierko, and Aussie underwear model Travis Fimmel. Also, Savage Garden's song 'All Around Me' was written
about Meg by the the band's composer, Daniel Jones, who had a big crush on her.
