Winona Ryder Wiki, Height, Age, Parents, Siblings, Wife, Net Worth, Career, Stranger Things 5
Winona Ryder Wiki, Biography
Winona Ryder is a Grammy Award–winning American actress and a cast member of Stranger Things 5, which premiered on November 26, 2025, on Netflix. She is widely recognized for her roles in films and series such as Lucas and Mr. Deeds.
Winona Ryder Height|Weight
Ryder’s height is approximately 5 feet 4 inches, and she weighs close to 60 kg.
Winona Ryder Age|How old is Ryder?
Ryder was born on October 29, 1971, in Winona County, Minnesota. She celebrates her birthday every year on October 29. She is currently years old.
Winona Ryder Parents|Siblings|Relatives
Winona Laura Horowitz was born to Cynthia Palmer (née Istas) and Michael D. Horowitz in Winona County, Minnesota. Her mother worked as a video producer, editor, and author, while her father was an editor, publisher, antiquarian bookseller, and writer. He also served as an archivist for psychologist Timothy Leary, who later became her godfather. Her father’s side of the family is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent with origins in Ukraine, Romania, and Russia. Ryder frequently visited her paternal grandparents in Brooklyn during Passover. Her mother’s heritage is Irish.
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Ryder received the middle name Laura in honor of Laura Huxley, a close friend of her parents and the wife of author Aldous Huxley. Her stage name, Ryder, was inspired by rock and soul musician Mitch Ryder, one of her father’s favorites. She grew up with a blend of spiritual influences—her father was an atheist while her mother practiced Buddhism. Her siblings include a younger brother, Urie, named after Yuri Gagarin, and two older half-siblings, Jubal Palmer and Sunyata Palmer, from her mother’s previous marriage. Her family socialized with notable figures like Timothy Leary, poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and novelist Philip K. Dick.
In 1978, at age seven, Ryder and her family relocated to Rainbow, a commune in Mendocino County, California, where they lived on shared land without electricity or television. This environment encouraged her love for reading, especially The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. At ten, her family moved to Petaluma, California, where she was bullied during her first week at Kenilworth Junior High. In 1983, she enrolled at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco to study acting. That same year, she nearly drowned, leading to lifelong aquaphobia, which later complicated the filming of Alien Resurrection (1997). Despite early acting success, including Beetlejuice, she continued to face bullying, with classmates accusing her of being a witch.
Ryder has stated that her natural hair color is brown, but that she was very blonde as a child. She began dyeing her blonde hair blue and purple at around 11 or 12. By the time she auditioned for Lucas (1986), her hair was dyed black, and she was asked to keep that color for the role.
Winona Ryder Net Worth|What is Winona's Net Worth?
Through her long and successful acting career, Ryder has accumulated an estimated net worth ranging between $500,000 and $4 million.
Winona Ryder Partner|Husband|Is Ryder Married?
Ryder met Johnny Depp at the Great Balls of Fire! premiere in June 1989. They began dating in February 1990 when she was 18 and Depp was 26, and they became engaged in July that same year. Their relationship ended in June 1993. She later dated Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum from 1993 to 1996 and Page Hamilton of Helmet from 2003 to 2005. From 1998 to 2000, she was in a relationship with actor Matt Damon. Since 2011, Ryder has been in a long-term relationship with fashion designer Scott Mackinlay Hahn.
Winona Ryder Job|Career|Biography
Winona Ryder, born Winona Laura Horowitz, is an American actress who gained early recognition in the late 1980s for her unconventional roles. She became a major figure in the 1990s through her dramatic work. Over the years, she has received many accolades, including a Golden Globe, along with nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy.
She debuted in Lucas (1986) and gained widespread attention with Beetlejuice (1988). Her filmography includes standout performances in Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Mermaids (1990), and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). She earned consecutive Oscar nominations for The Age of Innocence (1993) and Little Women (1994). Her later work includes roles in Reality Bites (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Celebrity (1998), Girl, Interrupted (1999), and Mr. Deeds (2002).
Following her 2001 shoplifting case and a brief hiatus from major acting roles, she returned with performances in Star Trek (2009), Black Swan (2010), and The Dilemma (2011). She starred as Lois Wilson in When Love Is Not Enough (2010). Since 2016, she has played Joyce Byers in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, earning another Golden Globe nomination. She also appeared in HBO’s The Plot Against America (2020) and the 2024 sequel Beetlejuice.
Ryder currently owns homes in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City’s Williamsburg neighborhood. She is Jewish and has spoken openly about facing antisemitism. She also deals with insomnia and has been a victim of stalking. Ryder has credited director Tim Burton with significantly shaping her career. She has also been involved in charitable work since her twenties, especially with the American Indian College Fund, which supports higher education for low-income Native American students.
Polly Klaas
In 1993, Ryder offered a $200,000 reward in hopes of finding kidnapped child Polly Klaas, who came from Petaluma, the area where Ryder grew up. After Klaas was tragically found deceased, Ryder dedicated her role as Jo in the 1994 film Little Women—a favorite book of Klaas—to her memory.
During the sentencing phase of Ryder’s 2001 shoplifting case, her attorney Mark Geragos referenced Ryder’s work with the Polly Klaas Foundation and other philanthropic efforts. Deputy District Attorney Ann Rundle criticized the mention, prompting Polly’s father, Marc Klaas, to defend Ryder and condemn the prosecutor’s remarks.
Winona Ryder Legal Issues
On December 12, 2001, Ryder was arrested for shoplifting in Beverly Hills after allegedly taking $5,500 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue. A team of eight prosecutors filed four felony charges against her, and she hired attorney Mark Geragos to represent her. Plea negotiations collapsed in 2002 because prosecutors insisted on felony charges. Reports also noted that the store had requested the charges be dropped, but prosecutors declined.
She faced accusations of using prescription drugs like oxycodone, diazepam, and Vicodin without valid prescriptions, though the drug possession charge was dismissed after it was confirmed that a doctor had prescribed them. Ryder was convicted of grand theft and shoplifting but acquitted of burglary. In December 2002, she received three years of probation, was ordered to complete 480 hours of community service, pay fines and restitution, and attend counseling. Her felonies were reduced to misdemeanors in 2004, and she completed probation by December 2005.
Ryder later explained that the incident occurred during a period of clinical depression and that overly strong pain medication prescribed by an unethical doctor impaired her judgment. The physician, Jules Mark Lusman, later lost his medical license for improper prescribing practices.
Winona Ryder Awards and Recognitions
Ryder has been honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with two nominations: Best Supporting Actress at the 66th Academy Awards (1994) for The Age of Innocence, and Best Actress at the 67th Academy Awards (1995) for Little Women.
In addition to her Oscar nominations, Ryder has received three Golden Globe nominations, winning once. She has also earned a BAFTA nomination, seven Screen Actors Guild Award nominations—including one win—and a Grammy nomination.
Winona Ryder Stranger Things 5
Set in the fall of 1987, one year after the events of Season 4, the final season follows the group as they attempt to stop Vecna after the Rifts tear open in Hawkins. Their mission becomes even more challenging when the military arrives and begins pursuing Eleven. With the anniversary of Will Byers’ disappearance approaching, the group must unite for one final confrontation with a powerful threat. The fifth and final season, Stranger Things 5, is scheduled to premiere on Netflix.
Winona Ryder Twitter(X), Facebook, and Instagram
Ryder is active on social media. She has approximately 607K followers on Instagram and about 3.8 million followers on her Facebook page. The links to her social media accounts are provided below.
