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Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress who plays Joyce Byers in the Netflix original series, Stranger Things. Notable films Ryder has appeared in include Beetlejuice (1988), Heathers (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Reality Bites (1994) , A Scanner Darkly (2006) and Mermaids (1990).

Ryder has been nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actress for Little Women, Best Supporting Actress for The Age of Innocence) and has won a Golden Globe.

Influences

She credits her whole career to Tim Burton. Billy Wilder and William Holden are two directors she has great respect.

Her favorite actress and as her influences are Barbara Stanwyck, Audrey Hepburn and Sigourney Weaver.

She is also into music and plays the guitar. Her favorite band is The Replacements and she loves Tom Waits, Cocteau Twins, Wilco and Courtney Love.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1986 Lucas Rina
1987 Square Dance Gemma Dillard
1988 Beetlejuice Lydia Deetz
1969 Beth Karr
Heathers Veronica Sawyer
1989 Great Balls of Fire! Myra Gale Lewis
1990 Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael Dinky Bossetti
Edward Scissorhands Kim Boggs
Mermaids Charlotte Flax
1991 Night on Earth Corky
1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray
1993 The Age of Innocence May Welland
The House of the Spirits Blanca Treuba
1994 Reality Bites Lelaina Pierce
Little Women Josephine "Jo" March
1995 How to Make an American Quilt Finn Dodd
1996 Boys Patty Vare
The Crucible Abigail Williams
1997 Alien Resurrection Annalee Call
1998 Celebrity Nola
1999 Girl, Interrupted Susanna Kaysen
2000 Autumn in New York Charlotte Fielding
Lost Souls Maya Larkin
2001 Zoolander Herself
2002 S1m0ne Nicola Anders
Mr. Deeds Babe Bennet
2004 The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things Psychologist
2006 The Darwin Awards Siri Taylor
A Scanner Darkly Donna Hawthrone
2007 Sex and Death 101 Gillian De Raisx
The Ten Kelly LaFonda
2008 The Last Word Charlotte Morris
The Informers Cheryl Laine
2009 Star Trek Amanada Grayson
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Sandra Dulles
Stay Cool Scarlet Smith
2010 Black Swan Beth MacIntyre
2011 The Dilemma Geneva Backman
2012 The Iceman Deborah Kuklinski
The Letter Martine
Frankenweenie Elsa Van Helsing
2013 Homefront Sheryl Mott
2015 Experimenter Sasha Menkin Milgram
2018 Destination Wedding Lindsay
2022 Gone in the Night Kath
2023 Haunted Mansion Pat
2024 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Lydia Deetz

Television

Year Title Role
1994 The Simpsons Allison Taylor
1996 Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Winona
1998 The Larry Sanders Show Herself
2000 Strangers with Candy Fran
2001 Friends Melissa Warburton
2002 Saturday Night Live Host
2010 When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story Lois Wilson
2013-2014 Drunk History Mary Dyer / Peggy Shippen
2014 Turks & Calcos Melanie Fall
2015 Show Me A Hero Vinni Restiano
2016-present Stranger Things Joyce Byers
2020 The Plot Against America Evelyn Finkel
Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine Lacey Groin

Music Videos

Year Artist Title
1989 Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child”
1990 Cher “The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)"
1992 Annie Lennox “Love Song for a Vampire”
1993 Crowded House “Locked Out”
1998 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion “Talk About the Blues”
2012 The Killers “Here With Me”


Gallery

Trivia

  • Winona suffers from aquaphobia because of a traumatic near-drowning at the age of 12. She also has insomnia.
  • She was named after the nearby city of Winona.
  • In 2000, Winona received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring her legacy in the film industry.
  • When she was younger, she wanted to be a competitive skateboarder.
  • She joined Amnesty International at age 12.
  • Her godfather was Timothy Leary.
  • She originally portrayed Mary Corleone in Frances Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III (1990), she started filming her part, but dropped out a few weeks into production due to commitments with Mermaids (1990) and nervous exhaustion. She later reunited with Coppola, when she was cast as Mina Murray in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).
  • She was one of the actresses to turn down the role of playing Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic (1997).
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