Winona Ryder

29 October, 1971

| 1.61 m

Actress

Producer

Director

Biography

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Olmsted County, Minnesota, and was named after a nearby town, Winona, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Cynthia (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller. Her father's family is Ukrainian Jewish and Romanian Jewish. She grew up in a ranch commune in Northern California which had no electricity. She is the goddaughter of Timothy Leary. Her parents were friends of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg and once edited a book called "Shaman Woman Mainline Lady", an anthology of writings on the drug experience in literature, which included one piece by Louisa May Alcott. Ryder would later play the lead role of Josephine March in the adaptation of this author's novel Małe kobietki (1994).Ryder moved with her parents to Petaluma, California when she was ten and enrolled in acting classes at the American Conservatory Theater. At age 13, she had a video audition to the film Kwiat pustyni (1986), but did not get the role. However, director David Seltzer spotted her and cast her in Lucas (1986). When telephoned to ask how she would like to have her name appear on the credits, she suggested Ryder as her father's Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels album was playing the background. Ryder was selected for the role of Mary Corleone in Ojciec chrzestny III (1990), but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Witaj w domu, Roxy Carmichael (1990) and Syreny (1990) back-to-back. She said she did not want to let everyone down by doing a substandard performance. She later made Wiek niewinności (1993), which was directed by Martin Scorsese, whom she believes to be "the best director in the world".

Movies

10 stories, each inspired by one of the 10 Commandments.

Bride-to-be Finn Dodd hears tales of romance and sorrow from her elders as they construct a quilt.

A Catholic teacher meets an atheist journalist, whom a group of Catholics and Priests believes has been chosen by the devil to be the Antichrist.

To investigate bizarre insurance claims that transpired in either accidents, death or both, a former cop and an insurance investigator travel throughout the country to look at the cases up close.

A small town prepares for the homecoming of superstar Roxy Carmichael, as does a young outsider, who believes Roxy is her mother.

When Kath and her boyfriend arrive at a remote cabin in the redwoods, they find a mysterious younger couple already there. Her boyfriend disappears with the young woman, and Kath becomes obsessed with finding an explanation.