Graduated
from Bethel High School. Was Prom Queen. [1979]
Ranked
#57 in Premiere (USA) magazine's "The 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood"
list. [June 1999]
Ranked
#59 on Entertainment Weekly's most powerful people in Hollywood
[1998]
Voted most
favorite female movie star by the readers and online users of the "People
Weekly
Magazine" [April 1998]
Ranked
#94 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Began Prufrock
Pictures in 1994.
Son, with Dennis Quaid, Jack Henry Quaid (b. 24 April 1992).
Met actor 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.
Turned down the
Sharon Stone role in Basic Instinct (1992)
"Meg Ryan"
is an anagram of "Germany".
Shut down
Prufrock Pictures [2000]
Born at
10:08 AM EST
Savage Garden's song 'All Around Me' was written about her, inspired by a crush from Daniel Jones, the band's composer.
4 February
2002 - An L.A. judge granted a restraining order against John Michael Hughes, a 40 year old real estate agent who had been
hanging around Ryan's home claiming to be her fiancee.
Measurements:
34B/C-24-33 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Member
of jury Festival International de Cannes 2003
Has been linked
romantically to actors Russell Crowe, John Cusack, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon & Craig Bierko; as well as Aussie underwear model Travis Fimmel.
Took three weeks
of boxing lessons, to prepare for her role in Against the Ropes (2004); Ryan wanted to understand the sport, and the terms her character would
use.
Shares a birthday
with Jodie Foster, Terry Farrell, and Allison Janney.
Shared an L.A. house with Daphne Zuniga when both were struggling actresses
Lost the lead
role in Washington Square (1997) to Jennifer Jason
Leigh
She and actor
Tom Hanks have been co-stars in three movies as love interests: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe Versus the
Volcano (1990), and You've Got Mail (1998)
Did several
national commercials as a teenager for Barbie and other products.
Voted "cutest"
girl in school, class secretary, and homecoming queen her senior year of high school.
Made a memorably
unforthcoming appearance on a British chat show hosted by Michael Parkinson. The October 2003 episode of Parkinson's chat show has become part of British television
history due to the actress's bizarre behavior in which she gave only one word answers to questions and stared icily at the
host. Ryan appeared on the program to promote her erotic thriller, In the Cut (2003), but refused to answer Parkinson's questions about the drastic change from
her typical romantic comedy roles. At one point Parkinson said in exasperation, "What would you do now if you were me?" to
which Ryan replied, "Why not wrap it up?" About the televised debacle, Parkinson later said that Ryan was his "most difficult
TV moment." He felt her rude behavior toward his fellow guests, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, whom she deliberately
turned her back on, was unforgivable. Parkinson said, "I should have closed it. But listen, it happens. She was an unhappy
woman. I felt sorry for her. What I couldn't forgive her for was that she was rude to the other guests." In a 2006 interview
with "Marie Claire" magazine, Ryan blamed Parknson's paternal manner for the failure of the interview. Ryan said, "I don't
even know the man. That guy was like some disapproving father! It's crazy. I don't know what he is to you guys, but he's a
nut. I felt like he was berating me for being naked in the movie. He said something like: 'You should go back to doing what
you were doing'. And I thought, are you like a disapproving dad right now? I'm not even related to you. Back off, buddy. I
was so offended by him." Ryan also underscored the difference between American and British TV interviewing styles. "I realized
it's not like an American talk show where it's seven minutes and then there's a commercial break. I had to do 20 minutes straight
with this guy, and I could either walk off - which wouldn't be good - or try to disagree with him very respectfully."
A famous haircut
by Sally Hershberger was named "Meg" in honor of Ryan, since she was the first one to have it.
Adopted daughter
Daisy True from China in January 2006
(revealed on "The Oprah Winfrey
Show" (March 1, 2006).