Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz on October 29, 1971 in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Her acting career is one of highs and lows, but she’s remained a steady force in film since her arrival in 1986. Predominantly known for her subsequent roles in the following twenty years, she’s recently scratched a new surface, television, with her recurring role as Joyce Byers in Netflix’s Stranger Things. In other words: she’s dominating right now.
She found her start in the David Seltzer’s 1986 film Lucas with Corey Haim, and then Daniel Petrie‘s 1987 Square Dance, but it wasn’t until Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice that she became a mainstream icon.
Some have called her career “rocky” and there are definitely some movies that weren’t well received, or films that were but she wasn’t an ideal casting for, but it doesn’t tarnish what’s worth appreciating. Despite this, she’s played several complex characters over the years, daring you to forget about her. She’s been able to embody youth, and was the talk of envy among many 90’s teenage girls. No matter what the role is, she manages to convey sincere emotion in those big brown eyes.
When I was growing up, she was one of my heroes. I think it was because I frequently watched her movies when she portrayed a teenager or young woman. Her characters were so often independent and were ones who occasionally had trouble finding their path in life. How could I not relate? As a young actress she always showed depth and range, and it was difficult not to fall in love with her characters. There’s hopefully lots more to come, but for now, let’s look back on her most iconic roles with a heavy and healthy dose of nostalgia.
The Burton Effect
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t seen (or adored) Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. In both, Winona Ryder is a significant presence, ensuring that within these Tim Burton classics, you remember her.
As Lydia, the photography loving, black wearing, sullen teen, she’s truly the focal point of Beetlejuice. Yes, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis’s characters are technically the main characters, as the newly dead couple. Of course, Michael Keaton’s titular lunatic steals every scene he’s in. However, Lydia is at the center; she’s the viewer’s north. With no aversion to ghosts she finds herself among the living and dead, a sympathetic and resilient young girl. As a teen herself, filming her third movie, she’s remarkably natural within these unsure shoes.
This was a film that was consistently playing in my home, and I’ve got every scene memorized. From Lydia’s initial reluctance to her family’s new move, to the spirited girl who dances in the air at the end, finding life within death, Ryder shines.
Edward Scissorhands is one of the most beautifully heartbreaking tales of love and loneliness. A fairy tale by all accounts, the magical story, enchanting visuals and enigmatic cast make it one of Burton’s best. With her opening scene, playing an elderly grandmother telling the story, she takes us through the film, our guide yet again. As the gentle Kim, Winona is a skeptic and yet a romantic, changing over the course of the film as she learns more about Johnny Depp’s Edward.
Scissorhands, as a love-story, always manages to make me sob and also…laugh (primarily at Alan Arkin). Burton captures the close-mindedness of suburbia keenly, nurturing the story of this fish out of water with careful precision. And at the center? Dancing in the snow from Edward’s sculpture, a moment of frivolous joy within a harsh reality?
Winona Ryder.
She’s also a voice in Burton’s Frankenweenie about a boy who brings back his dead dog (though he’s not quite the same). Even her voice, as Elsa Van Helsing, is a valuable asset.
Young And Wild
Little Women (Gillian Armstrong)
As aspiring author Jo, Winona Ryder was the tomboy of the family of girls. Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, this film adaptation takes a wonderfully assembled ensemble cast and captures this treasured tale. She’s also the star of the film, which included several talented women (Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes), and she received an Oscar nomination for best actress.
During the American Civil War in Massachusetts this group of women, the March sisters, as the patriarch is off at war, struggle through youth and life and love. It’s ripe with sugary sentiments, tender moments, and a wonderful and inspiring performance by Ryder.
The charming young Christian Bale helps matters too.
I’ve watched it every Christmas that I can remember, and it’s that homey, warm kind of movie. As a young girl, Winona Ryder’s spirited portrayal made me want to seek out my own story. When she finds her way, and realizes her heart lies with Gabriel Byrne, c’mon, it’ll make your heart burst.
Heathers (Michael Lehmann)
This contemptuous satire didn’t pull any punches when it came to portraying its cast of mean girls as detestable, or when it came to giving Christian Slater‘s character full room to reign in terror. While this film is hilarious at times, it would undoubtedly never be made today, and so it’s frozen in the 1980’s where we can enjoy it without guilt.
Winona Ryder belongs to a group of bitchy teens who terrorize the school. The others are all Heathers (though she’s not one herself), and it’s clear from the beginning that this intelligent (used to be a geek) girl, Veronica Sawyer, isn’t completely enjoying her time here.
The new bad boy (Slater) catches her eye, and thus begins a murderous rampage with a kooky resonance. When the lead Heather (Kim Walker) is killed and they frame it as a suicide, things don’t turn out the way they expect. Their Bonnie and Clyde relationship hinders on sex and crime, and somehow it takes the entire movie for Ryder to realize he’s not going to stop.
It’s a black-comedy that gave her another opportunity to stand out and show her wide range. Her compelling performance amid the violence made the picture.
Reality Bites (Ben Stiller)
This Gen-x, 90’s lovefest, remains to this day – one of my quintessential rom-com’s. Directed by and starring Ben Stiller, Reality Bites follows a group of friends post-college graduation as they try to find their place. At the center is Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder), valedictorian, stuck in a job she dislikes. Her friends are played by Ethan Hawke, Steve Zahn, and Janeane Garofalo, who provide no shortage of hilarious commentary and quotable moments (specifically from Hawke.)
Lelaina is the kind of role you can’t help but love, and love is the predominate, recurring thread here. Even as things change, constrict, and her dreams seem out of reach, love – a choice between the responsible Michael (Stiller) and one of her best friends, slacker Troy (Hawke) – is the main thread of this rom-com yarn.
She’s eccentric, but entirely watchable. Plus, there are some inspired moments. “Honey, all you have to be by the time you’re 23, is yourself.” Love it.
Mermaids (Richard Benjamin)
As Cher’s daughter, Winona Ryder tackled coming to age from a different perspective in Mermaids.
Based on the novel by Patty Dann, It is tough not to adore fifteen year old Charlotte Flax, who prays for god to keep her from temptation (I.E love and sex) while balancing her strange homelife. She’s embarrassed by her wild mother, the very opposite of her own intentions. The scenes shared with her sister (a young Christina Ricci) are warm and affable. While there’s no shortage of talent here, Ryder is specifically delightful.
Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold)
In her pixie haircut glory starring opposite the enigmatic Angelina Jolie (who won an Academy Award for the role), Ryder stars as Susanna Kaysen. Based on the book of the same name which chronicles the time the author spent in a mental institution, Girl, Interrupted gives us an interesting, sometimes comical, but instinctively heartbreaking glimpse into mental health.
After writer Susanna tries to kill himself she checks herself in for help. There’s a lot of fantastic actresses in this film, but one such stand-out is Lisa (Jolie). She comes on strong and works as a great ying to Susanna’s yang. They’re different but build a friendship anyway.
James Mangold directs these two women; Jolie unruly and Ryder quaint. While RT might show critics are split on this picture, and while things get a bit murky towards the end (and the book might shine brighter), Interrupted gives us another solid performance from the star. As Susanna she’s very vulnerable, and naive about her own mental health. Through the course of the film and her eventual understanding, we see the changes through Ryder’s compelling take.
It is also worth mention that in Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth, Winona Ryder plays the tough cab driver Corky. Though the film is told in vignettes and hers is just one, her interactions with her customer, Gena Rowlands, whose character is the exact opposite, are both funny and refreshing. As Corky, she’s not trying to impress anyone here, but her performance definitely does.
A Different Time, A Familiar Face
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola)
There is a fine level between just enough and too much, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula finds it. It runs the risk of being over the top and yet gives us a fresh take on the classic. This 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film featured an epic performance by Gary Oldman as Dracula, a memorable turn as Van Helsing with Anthony Hopkins, and a beautiful and torn Winona Ryder (playing two characters) – the beating heart. As Mina Murray and Elisabeta she’s the beginning and end of the titular character, making his transformation to the prince of darkness stem from a human place.
The love-story between her and Dracula is achingly sad, but also satisfying. I’ve always loved the score, Coppola’s intimidating choice of aesthetics and a villain that wasn’t entirely horrific. There’s a part of his character that makes him sympathetic, in large part because of Ryder and her keen fragility.
The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner)
Undoubtedly you know the story. In fact, you probably read it in high school like me. I can’t say that I’m enraptured by the adaptation, but as the seventeen year old who accuses another of witchcraft, it’s hard to deny Winona Ryder’s keen talent on all spectrums of characters. This frenzied story of the Salem Witch Trials is based on Arthur Miller‘s book (with a screenplay penned by him as well).
As the scorned Abigail Williams, this isn’t a likable role. She points the finger on someone else, to save her own skin, but her choice of victims? Well, the man John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis) she had an affair with, and his wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen). Is it envy, spite? Take your pick. She’s vengeful, and she wears its well.
Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese)
Winona Ryder received her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for the role. As Daniel Day-Lewis’s wife (the two would meet again in Crucible) May, the film may focus on his romance with Michelle Pfeiffer, but May doesn’t let you forget her. She’s tricky; bouncing back and forth between doe-eyed and manipulative depending on the circumstance. I think it’s an understated performance (yes, I know, she got a nomination) but when discussing the film she’s often left out of conversation (in my experience).
She’s not at the epicenter of a great romance, merely on the sidelines here, but what she does – she does well.
A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater)
This whacky science fiction romp (adapted from a Philip K. Dick story) from Richard Linklater had Ryder pairing with her Dracula co-star Keanu Reeves once more. In this futuristic tale most of society is hooked on the mysterious Substance D, and Reeves is an undercover agent sent to investigate. Ryder plays his girlfriend, also an addict, who in turn – isn’t who she seems by the end. It is an intriguing role for her to play, and between the unique animation and drug-fueled ride, this film highlights her with another engrossing performance.
Supporting Roles
Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky)
Though Natalie Portman was truly the star of Black Swan, who could forget Winona’s turn as the resentful, older, ballet dancer. It’s brief, but her unbalanced portrayal, tear-soaked makeup and all, reverberates through the remainder of the film.
The Experimenter (Michael Almereyda)
This film follows psychologist Stanley Milgran (Peter Sarsgaard), who did radical experiments at Yale University in the 1960’s. The tests would follow a human’s willingness to obey, even when they shouldn’t. As Stanley’s wife, Sasha, Ryder plays the character with a lovely sensitivity, that befits the film well.
The Iceman (Ariel Vromen)
This based on a true story movie about a hired killer is another opportunity to relish Michael Shannon‘s significant talent. His character who is also a family man, having a duplicitous life, makes for an absorbing premise. His wife is played by Ryder. It’s a chilling story, and as his clueless wife, she brings her own sort of strength to an unforgettable real life thriller.
Stranger Things (Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer)
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard, if not fallen in love with Stranger Things. It encapsulates ’80s fan lore of movies like ET and The Goonies and provides us with a new group of lovable kids looking to save their town.
As Joyce Byers, Winona Ryder is resilient, completely consumed (sometimes to the point of seeming insane) by the need to find her son Will (Noah Schnapp) after he goes missing. The first season revolves around his disappearance, as well as the mysterious appearance of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who becomes close with Will’s friends. Along with having two sons, she has a consistent motherly touch to all of the children, especially Eleven. It’s a different side to the actress, and she’s perfect in the role.
With a mostly teenage cast, the adults, specifically her and David Harbour’s chief Hopper, whom seem to have a romance brewing (even if they want to deny it) are left to level the age playing field, keeping a firm grasp on the narrative. Her sincerity, not to mention the palpable love she has for her children, shows that Stranger Things is a great avenue to show off her talent.
A quick round up of some of her other supporting parts:
She also had a co-starring role in two comedies, Mr. Deeds and The Dilemma, neither of which were hits. In each she showed her aptitude for comedy, even if these weren’t the greatest vehicles to show it. Also, she’s got a small role in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, a film that I feel is woefully overlooked. In Alien: Resurrection, she embodied the newest synth in the series, and had great chemistry with Sigourney Weaver. She played Spock’s mother in Star Trek for a short, but emotional time. Though Oscar Isaac might be the prominent figure in the miniseries Show me a Hero, all of the supporting characters, including Winona, are extraordinary.
What’s Next?
Next month she’ll be reunited with Keanu Reeves once again for their fourth film together, the romantic comedy Destination Wedding. Not to mention the third season of Stranger Things, set to premiere in 2019. She’s quite busy, and I’m excited to see what comes next!
What do you think? Any Winona roles I didn’t mention (there are many that I didn’t) that you love? Let us know in the comments below!
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