Acting · Winona, Minnesota, USA · Born October 29, 1971
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.
TVStranger Things : Édition Spéciale VHS
2026
as Joyce Byers
MovieOne Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5
2026
as Self (uncredited)
TVTim Burton: Life in the Line
2025
as Self
MovieBeetlejuice Beetlejuice
2024
as Lydia
MovieTim Burton: Life in the Line
2024
as Self
MovieHaunted Mansion
2023
as Pat (uncredited)
MovieGone in the Night
2022
as Kath
MovieWinona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called
2022
as Self - Actress (archive footage)
MovieThe Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon
2022
as Self
MovieHannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
2021
as Self (archive footage)
MovieSarah Cooper: Everything's Fine
2020
as Lacey Groin
TVThe Plot Against America
2020
as Evelyn Finkel
MovieDestination Wedding
2018
as Lindsay
TVStranger Things
2016
as Joyce Byers
MovieAuthor: The JT LeRoy Story
2016
as Herself
Dr. Feelgood
2015
as Self (archive footage)
MovieExperimenter
2015
as Alexandra "Sasha" Milgram
TVShow Me a Hero
2015
as Vinni Restiano
TVHot Ones
2015
as Self
MovieScorsese's Women
2014
as Mask
MovieTurks & Caicos
2014
as Melanie Fall
TVLate Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
MovieHomefront
2013
as Sheryl Marie Mott
TVDrunk History
2013
as Mary Dyer
MovieBen Lee: Catch My Disease
2012
as Self
MovieFrankenweenie
2012
as Elsa Van Helsing (voice)
MovieThe Letter
2012
as Martine Jamison
MovieThe Iceman
2012
as Deborah Kuklinski
MovieStay Cool
2011
as Scarlet Smith
MovieBlack Swan: Metamorphosis
2011
as Self
MovieThe Dilemma
2011
as Geneva Brannen
MovieBlack Swan
2010
as Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
MovieWhen Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story
2010
as Lois Wilson
MovieThe Private Lives of Pippa Lee
2009
as Sandra Dulles
MovieStar Trek
2009
as Amanda Grayson
Water Pills
2009
as Carrie
TVLate Night with Jimmy Fallon
2009
as Self - Guest
MovieThe Informers
2008
as Cheryl Moore
MovieThe Last Word
2008
as Charlotte Morris
MovieThe Blood Is the Life: The Making of 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'
2007
as Self (archive footage)
MovieWelcome
2007
as Cynthia
MovieVoom Portraits
2007
as Self
MovieThe Ten
2007
as Kelly La Fonda
MovieThe Darwin Awards
2007
as Siri Taylor
MovieSex and Death 101
2007
as Death Nell / Gillian De Raisx (#101)
MovieMarc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton
2007
as Self
MovieOne Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming 'A Scanner Darkly'
2006
as Self / Donna
MovieThe Weight of the Line: Animation Tales
2006
as Self
MovieA Scanner Darkly
2006
as Donna Hawthorne
MovieNos Bastidores de Hollywood
2005
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLinklater: St. Richard of Austin
2004
as Self
MovieThe Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
2004
as Psychologist
Cabin Fever: Beneath the Skin
2004
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieOne Step Beyond: The Making of Alien Resurrection
2003
as Self
TVThe Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
as Self
Movie101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment
2003
as Self (archive footage)
MovieDeclaration of Independence
2003
as Self
TVCelebrities Uncensored
2003
as Self
MovieThe Day My God Died
2003
as Narrator (voice)
MovieS1m0ne
2002
as Nicola Anders
MovieMr. Deeds
2002
as Babe Bennett
MovieZoolander
2001
as Winona Ryder (uncredited)
MovieSwatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads
2001
as Self
MovieLost Souls
2000
as Maya Larkin
MovieAutumn in New York
2000
as Charlotte Fielding
MovieGirl, Interrupted
1999
as Susanna
TVStrangers with Candy
1999
as Fran
MovieCelebrity
1998
as Nola
The Entertainment Biz
1998
as Self
MovieAlien Resurrection
1997
as Call
MovieThe Crucible
1996
as Abigail Williams
MovieLooking for Richard
1996
as Self / Lady Anne
TVE! True Hollywood Story
1996
as Self
MovieBoys
1996
as Patty Vare
MovieHow to Make an American Quilt
1995
as Finn Dodd
TVDr. Katz, Professional Therapist
1995
as Winona (voice)
MovieLittle Women
1994
as Jo March
TVFriends
1994
as Melissa Warburton
MovieReality Bites
1994
as Lelaina Pierce
MovieThe House of the Spirits
1993
as Blanca Trueba
MovieThe Age of Innocence
1993
as May Welland
MovieInnocence and Experience: The Making of 'The Age of Innocence'
1993
as Self
MovieBlood Lines: Dracula - The Man, The Myth, The Movies
1992
as Self
MovieBram Stoker's Dracula
1992
as Mina Murray / Elisabeta
TVThe Larry Sanders Show
1992
as Winona Ryder
MovieNight on Earth
1991
as Corky
MovieMermaids
1990
as Charlotte Flax
MovieThe Making of Edward Scissorhands
1990
as Self
MovieEdward Scissorhands
1990
as Kim
MovieWelcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
1990
as Dinky Bossetti
TVThe Simpsons
1989
as Allison Taylor (voice)
MovieGreat Balls of Fire!
1989
as Myra Gale Brown
MovieHeathers
1989
as Veronica Sawyer
Movie1969
1988
as Beth Carr
MovieBeetlejuice
1988
as Lydia
MovieSquare Dance
1987
as Gemma
MovieLucas
1986
as Rina
TVSaturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
