Winona-Ryder

Winona Ryder is the professionally-known name of Winona Laura Hoowitz. She was born in Winona Minnesota. She was named by her parents for the town in which she grew as a child. Michel Horowitz' father was editor and author along with Cynthia Palmer and her mother. Ryder's father was born into a Jewish family. Ryder considers her self Jewish. Her half-siblings are younger, Jubal and Sunyata. Ryder relocated with her family to Mendocino County California at the age of seven. At the time, there were no electric lights. Ryder became an avid book reader because there was television. Ryder, then 12, was enrolled in the American Conservatory Theatre for acting classes in 1983. Lucas, a 1986 film that she was in, was her debut major role. Ryder was just 15 at the time she was cast. Ryder endured bullying while in high school. Her hope was that her career in acting would alter the way she dealt with bullying. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. However, she kept working towards her dreams. In 1988, she received her breakthrough role in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. Ryder continued playing parts that proved successful in a variety of films. Ryder was nominated twice for Academy Awards one for her performance as a character in The Age of Innocence (1993).