Winona Ryder
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.
Known for
Acting98
movieOne Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5
2026
Self (uncredited)
movieHaunted Mansion
2023
Pat (uncredited)
movieWinona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called
2022
Self - Actress (archive footage)
movieHannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
2021
Self (archive footage)
movieSarah Cooper: Everything's Fine
2020
Lacey Groin
tvThe Plot Against America
2020
Evelyn Finkel
movieDestination Wedding
2018
Lindsay
tvStranger Things
2016
Joyce Byers
Dr. Feelgood
2015
Self (archive footage)
movieExperimenter
2015
Alexandra "Sasha" Milgram
tvShow Me a Hero
2015
Vinni Restiano
tvHot Ones
2015
Self
movieTurks & Caicos
2014
Melanie Fall
tvLate Night with Seth Meyers
2014
Self - Guest
movieHomefront
2013
Sheryl Marie Mott
tvDrunk History
2013
Mary Dyer
movieFrankenweenie
2012
Elsa Van Helsing (voice)
movieThe Letter
2012
Martine Jamison
movieThe Iceman
2012
Deborah Kuklinski
movieStay Cool
2011
Scarlet Smith
movieThe Dilemma
2011
Geneva Brannen
movieBlack Swan
2010
Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
movieThe Private Lives of Pippa Lee
2009
Sandra Dulles
movieStar Trek
2009
Amanda Grayson
tvLate Night with Jimmy Fallon
2009
Self - Guest
movieThe Informers
2008
Cheryl Moore
movieThe Last Word
2008
Charlotte Morris
movieThe Blood Is the Life: The Making of 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'
2007
Self (archive footage)
movieWelcome
2007
Cynthia
movieThe Ten
2007
Kelly La Fonda
movieThe Darwin Awards
2007
Siri Taylor
movieSex and Death 101
2007
Death Nell / Gillian De Raisx (#101)
movieA Scanner Darkly
2006
Donna Hawthorne
movieNos Bastidores de Hollywood
2005
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
2004
Psychologist
Cabin Fever: Beneath the Skin
2004
(archive footage) (uncredited)
movie101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment
2003
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Day My God Died
2003
Narrator (voice)
movieS1m0ne
2002
Nicola Anders
movieMr. Deeds
2002
Babe Bennett
movieZoolander
2001
Winona Ryder (uncredited)
movieLost Souls
2000
Maya Larkin
movieAutumn in New York
2000
Charlotte Fielding
movieGirl, Interrupted
1999
Susanna
movieThe Crucible
1996
Abigail Williams
movieLooking for Richard
1996
Self / Lady Anne
movieBoys
1996
Patty Vare
tvDr. Katz, Professional Therapist
1995
Winona (voice)
movieLittle Women
1994
Jo March
tvFriends
1994
Melissa Warburton
movieReality Bites
1994
Lelaina Pierce
movieThe House of the Spirits
1993
Blanca Trueba
movieThe Age of Innocence
1993
May Welland
movieBram Stoker's Dracula
1992
Mina Murray / Elisabeta
tvThe Larry Sanders Show
1992
Winona Ryder
movieMermaids
1990
Charlotte Flax
movieWelcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
1990
Dinky Bossetti
tvThe Simpsons
1989
Allison Taylor (voice)
movieGreat Balls of Fire!
1989
Myra Gale Brown
movieHeathers
1989
Veronica Sawyer
movie1969
1988
Beth Carr
movieBeetlejuice
1988
Lydia
movieLucas
1986
Rina
tvSaturday Night Live
1975
Self - Host / Self (uncredited)
tvThe Oscars
1953
Self
Crew3
tvDr. Katz, Professional Therapist
1995
Additional Writing
Production2
movieThe Day My God Died
2003
Producer
movieGirl, Interrupted
1999
Executive Producer