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