'''Winona Ryder''' (born '''Winona Laura Horowitz''' on [[October 29]], [[1971]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[actor|actress]].
==Biography==
Ryder was born in Olmstead County near [[Winona, Minnesota]] to [[Michael Horowitz]] (the son of [[Jewish]] immigrants from [[Russia]] and [[Romania]]) and [[Cindy Horowitz|Cindy Istas]]. Her father's family was originally named 'Tomchin', however Ryder has stated that they were wrongly assigned the name of the family that they were travelling with when they arrived at [[Ellis Island]], in 1906. Ryder's parents named her 'Winona' after the town in [[Minnesota]] where she was born. She has a younger brother Yuri (named after [[Yuri Gagarin]]), an older half-brother Jubal and an older half-sister Sunyata. Notable family friends included her [[Godparent|godfather]] [[Timothy Leary]] and [[Beat generation|beat poet]] [[Allen Ginsberg]].
When she was seven years old she and her family resided at Rainbow, a [[Intentional community|commune]] near [[Elk, California]], where they lived with seven other families on a 300-acre (1.2 km²) plot of land. As the remote property had no [[electricity]] or televisions, Ryder took to reading. Her mother did, however, show her some films on a screen in the barn, which perhaps led her to develop an interest in what would later make up her career. At age 10 the family moved again to [[Petaluma, California|Petaluma]], [[California]]. She was harassed her first week of junior high school there when a group of bullies mistook her for an effeminate, scrawny boy. This led her to be schooled at home that year, but she also spent time attending the [[American Conservatory Theater]] in nearby [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], where she started taking [[acting]] lessons.
==Film career==
===1985–1990===
In [[1985]], Ryder sent a video audition to appear in the film ''[[Desert Bloom]]'', but was rejected. However, [[David Seltzer]], a writer and director, soon noticed her and cast her for his [[1986 in film|1986 film]] ''[[Lucas (movie)|Lucas]]'' for a role of a teenage outcast, falling in love, but ignored, by the main character. When asked how she wanted her name to appear in the credits, she suggested Ryder as a [[Mitch Ryder]] album of her father's played in the background.
Her next movie was ''[[Square Dance]]'' ([[1987 in film|1987]]) (called "a remarkable debut" by ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]''), where her teenage character creates a bridge between two alien worlds/plot devices - a ''traditional farm in the middle of nowhere'' and a ''Big City''. Her role concentrates on a profound question: how much of our behaviour perceived by the outside world is inherent to us and how much comes from acting the social role under pressure of the society, in a way that society considers "proper" and [[ethics|ethical]] implications coming from this classical [[conflict of interest]], which she later had a chance to make perfect in ''[[The Age of Innocence]]''.
Her breakthrough film is generally considered to be [[Tim Burton]]'s [[1988 in film|1988 film]] ''[[Beetlejuice]]'', in which she played a [[goth]] teenager named Lydia suffering from depression induced by the extreme consumer [[worldview]] her parents represent, who comes to live in a [[haunted house]] (the haunting performed by [[Geena Davis]], [[Alec Baldwin]] and [[Michael Keaton]]). She is the only human being among the players able to feel strong [[empathy]] and [[sympathy]] toward the [[ghost]]s and their drama of being captured in between the world of the living and the [[netherworld|afterworld]]. The movie was a commercial and media success.
In [[1989 in film|1989]], she starred in a now [[cult movie]] - ''[[Heathers]]'', which her agent thought was bad for her career. Her character is opposed to violence as a way to resolve conflicts and is able to express her views by stopping major violent accidents from happening. Again her character struggles, forced to choose between the will of mad society and her own heart - she wins that battle by choosing neither and by playing all parties against themselves, so she can be left alone to decide about her life. In the same year she did ''[[Great Balls of Fire]]'', playing the thirteen-year-old bride of [[Jerry Lee Lewis]].
In [[1990 in film|1990]], Winona played a primary role in another Burton project, ''[[Edward Scissorhands]]'', alongside her then-[[boyfriend]] [[Johnny Depp]]. It is her only movie, other than 2002's ''[[Mr. Deeds]],'' in which one can admire her natural blond hair, which she has dyed dark since childhood.
She withdrew from her role in [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s ''[[The Godfather, Part III]]'', after feeling exhausted from recent roles — she finished two somewhat related movies ''[[Mermaids]]'' (with [[Cher (entertainer)|Cher]], [[Christina Ricci]], [[Bob Hoskins]] and [[Michael Schoeffling]]) and ''[[Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael]]'' (with [[Jeff Daniels (actor)|Jeff Daniels]]), both shot in [[1990 in film|1990]] and both stressing the [[motive]] of the ability of our own personal [[narrative]] changing our [[real life]].
===1991–1995===
[[Image:winonamina.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ryder as Mina Harker in ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula]]''.]]
In [[1991 in film|1991]], she played a taxi driver who wants to become a mechanic (''[[Night on Earth (1991 film)|Night on Earth]]''), against the forced repertoire of roles selected for women by [[gender]] prejudices.
In [[1992 in film|1992]], she starred in the dual roles of [[Mina Harker]] and [[Princess Elisabeta]], in ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula]]'', a project she brought to director [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s attention.
The next year she appeared in ''[[The Age of Innocence]]'' (alongside [[Michelle Pfeiffer]] and [[Daniel Day-Lewis]]), a film based on a novel by [[Edith Wharton]] and helmed by director [[Martin Scorsese]], whom Ryder considers the best director. She plays a young woman, captured in plots within plots within plots of the society where every sentence pronounced has at least three different meanings. The constant merciless war of countless conspiring factions is mirrored in the scenery, full of symbols and ciphered messages passed by ''secret agents of love'' trying to tell truth while avoiding the insane rage of organised madness around them. Her role in this movie won her a [[Golden Globe Award]] for Best Supporting Actress as well as an [[Academy Award]] nomination.
Next she starred in ''[[How to Make an American Quilt]]'' ([[1995 in film|1995]]) - again the character is forced to choose between a will of the "quilting bee" and her [[desire]]s, followed by ''[[Boys (film)|Boys]]'', ([[1996 in film|1996]]), ''again'' fighting for her [[self (psychology)|self]] against the whole world, with [[love]] as her only true [[friend]] and [[guide]]. The movie also featured the motive of confusion between subjective and objective interpretations of perceived reality, later exploited in ''[[Lost Souls (film)|Lost Souls]]''.
She received yet another nomination in [[1994 in film|1994]] with ''[[Little Women (1994 film)|Little Women]]'', based on the classic [[Little Women|novel of the same name]].
In the same year she starred in a [[cult movie]], hailed by the press as a "portrait of [[Generation X]]" - ''[[Reality Bites]]''. Her character had to choose between the voice of reason and the voice of heart - two potential mates - a self-centered, half-educated, lacking empathy but successful man working as a producer in the business of garbage media played by [[Ben Stiller]] and a free-spirited, caring but also self-centered leader of an alternative band, permanently kicking himself out of his extremely boring jobs he has to take to earn for a living, played by [[Ethan Hawke]]. She is at the same time struggling with life in a world obsessed with money and brainwashing commercials, discarding anyone more interested in the deeds of intellect and spirit.
===1996–2000===
In [[1996 in film|1996]] she starred in [[Al Pacino]]'s debut as a director, ''[[Looking for Richard]],'' and also in ''[[The Crucible (film)|The Crucible]]'' ([[1996 in film|1996]]), a movie concerning famous mass executions of innocent people in Salem triggered by anti-witchcraft hysteria of its [[Puritan]] population. The movie was praised by critics but failed commercially.
Soon afterward, Ryder accepted a role in the [[1997 in film|1997]] film ''[[Alien: Resurrection]]''. Having grown up on the ''[[Alien (movie)|Alien]]'' franchise, she signed before having even read a script.
''[[Celebrity (movie)|Celebrity]]'' ([[1998 in film|1998]]), her next work, contains an episode with a pun toward the character from the ''[[Night on Earth (1991 film)|Night on Earth]]'' - an alternative path of life.
In [[1999 in film|1999]], she acted in and served as [[executive producer]] for ''[[Girl, Interrupted (film)|Girl, Interrupted]]'', based on the [[autobiography]] of [[Susanna Kaysen]]. Ryder was deeply attached to the film, considering it her "child of the heart"; she played the Kaysen character, who had a [[borderline personality disorder]] and was rather calm and subdued. In contrast, the supporting role performed by [[Angelina Jolie]] of a [[sociopath]] full of sexual energy and prone to dramatic episodes, stole the attention of the public and the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|Academy]].
She went on to portray the fragile, beautiful, young, talented and doomed love interest of [[Richard Gere]]'s character in the [[2000 in film|2000]] romance ''[[Autumn in New York]]''.
In the same year she played a sister (a [[nun]]) of a secret society loosely connected to [[Catholic Church]] determined to prevent [[Armageddon]] - ''[[Lost Souls (film)|Lost Souls]]''. The character struggles between the world (including the Church) laughing at the [[supernatural]], her own beliefs based on personal experience and uncertainty between seemingly obvious empirical evidence and her doubts in her own [[sanity]], and a questionable ability to [[reason]] or even [[perceive]] correctly. The movie was not a success, lost in a myriad of others exploiting the [[Millennium]] [[FUD]].
===2000–2005===
In [[2002 in film|2002]], Ryder appeared in two films - a romantic comedy ''[[Mr. Deeds]]'' (alongside [[Adam Sandler]]), where she plays a cynical reporter for an unscrupulous television program, and an episodic role in ''[[S1m0ne]]'', where she portrays an extravagant star who is replaced by a [[Artificial intelligence|computer simulated]] actress due to secret machinations of a director, played by [[Al Pacino]].
===2006===
[[Image:Scanner2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Winona Ryder as Donna in ''[[A Scanner Darkly (film)|A Scanner Darkly]]'' (2006)]]
In [[2006 in film|2006]], Winona will appear in two films. After a long dry spell, the actress will portray Donna Hawthorne in [[Richard Linklater]]'s ''[[A Scanner Darkly (film)|A Scanner Darkly]]'', a futuristic movie based on [[Philip K. Dick]]'s famous novel. The cast also includes [[Keanu Reeves]], [[Robert Downey Jr]] and [[Woody Harrelson]]. Live action scenes have been transformed with [[rotoscope]] [[software]] and the film will be entirely animated. She will also star in the comedy ''[[The Darwin Awards (film)|The Darwin Awards]]'', with [[Joseph Fiennes]].
==Shoplifting incident==
On [[December 12]], [[2001]], Winona Ryder was arrested for [[shoplifting]] thousands of dollars' worth of designer clothes and accessories at [[Saks Fifth Avenue]] [[department store]] in [[Beverly Hills, California]].
[[Los Angeles]] [[District Attorney]] [[Stephen Cooley]] set up a team of eight prosecutors and seized the opportunity to prosecute the actress aggressively and filed four felony charges against her in what was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' (UK) as a [[show trial]] since the prosecution demanded the trial be televised. Ryder hired noted defense attorney [[Mark Geragos]] and mounted her defense to fight the charges. Negotiations for a plea bargain failed at the end of summer [[2002]]. As noted by Joel Mowbray in ''[[The National Review]],'' the prosecution had no intention to allow the actress to plead out with misdemeanors, which was offered to more than 5,000 other defendants in similar cases between 1999 and 2001.
During the trial, she was also accused of using drugs without valid prescriptions; according to a probation report that can be found on [[The Smoking Gun]] website, she had up to 37 prescriptions filled by 20 doctors, using 6 different aliases, in a three-year period. The defense produced the official documents for the drugs that the police found in her purse, and the prosecution consequently dropped the charge. Ryder was convicted of [[grand theft]] and [[vandalism]], but the [[jury]] acquitted her on the third felony charge ([[burglary]]). In December 2002, she was sentenced to three years' probation, 480 hours of [[community service]], $3,700 in fines and $6,355 in [[restitution]] to Saks and the judge ordered the actress to attend psychological and drug counselling. The charges were eventually reviewed, and the felonies reduced to misdemeanors, on [[June 18]], [[2004]].
== Notable romances ==
Her long engagements with [[Johnny Depp]] (four years), [[David Pirner]] (three years) and [[Matt Damon]] (three years) are quite famous. (During their relationship, Depp got a [[tattoo]] on his arm reading "Winona Forever," which he had altered to "[[Wino (slang term)|Wino]] Forever" after their breakup.) According to various sources, most of them tabloids and gossip columns, Winona Ryder has also dated actors [[Daniel Day-Lewis]], [[David Duchovny]], [[Val Kilmer]], [[Chris Noth]], [[Jimmy Fallon]] and [[Christian Slater]], as well as musicians [[Ryan Adams]], [[Evan Dando]], [[Adam Duritz]], [[David Grohl]], [[Page Hamilton]], [[Beck Hansen]], [[Jay Kay]], [[Rhett Miller]], and [[Pete Yorn]].
==Filmography as actress==
*''[[Lucas (movie)|Lucas]]'' (1986)
*''[[Square Dance]]'' (1987)
*''[[Beetlejuice]]'' (1988)
*''[[1969 (film)|1969]]'' (1988)
*''[[Heathers]]'' (1989)
*''[[Great Balls of Fire!]]'' (1989)
*''[[Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael]]'' (1990)
*''[[Edward Scissorhands]]'' (1990)
*''[[Mermaids (movie)|Mermaids]]'' (1990)
*''[[Night on Earth (1991 film)|Night on Earth]]'' (1991)
*''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula]]'' (1992)
*''[[The Age of Innocence]]'' (1993)
*''[[The House of Spirits]]'' (1993)
*''[[Reality Bites]]'' (1994)
*''[[Little Women (1994 film)|Little Women]]'' (1994)
*''[[How to Make an American Quilt]]'' (1995)
*''[[Boys (film)|Boys]]'' (1996)
*''[[Looking for Richard]]'' (1996)
*''[[The Crucible (film)|The Crucible]]'' (1996)
*''[[Alien: Resurrection]]'' (1997)
*''[[Celebrity (film)|Celebrity]]'' (1998)
*''[[Girl, Interrupted (film)|Girl, Interrupted]]'' (1999, and executive producer)
*''[[Autumn in New York]]'' (2000)
*''[[Lost Souls (film)|Lost Souls]]'' (2000)
*''[[Zoolander]]'' (2001) (cameo, playing herself)
*''[[Mr. Deeds]]'' (2002)
*''[[S1m0ne]]'' (2002)
*''[[The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things]]'' (2004)
*''[[The Darwin Awards (film)|The Darwin Awards]]'' (2006)
