The Winona Ryder Cinematic Universe

Photos courtesy of Warner Brothers, New World Pictures, Orion Pictures, and Netflix.

Winona Laura Horowitz, known professionally as Winona Ryder, was born on October 29, 1971 in Winona, Minnesota. She moved to California when she was 10 years old with her family. 2 years later, she enrolled at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Ryder received her first acting lessons there. She graduated high school with 4.0 GPA in 1989. Her acting career spans decades and includes notable roles in which I will be discussing with you today.

Beetlejuice (1988)

Ryder’s career took off when she starred in Beetlejuice in 1988 as Lydia Deetz. Lydia is definitely not the girl next door. She’s full of quirks and is often described as goth.

Ryder would go on to portray many more quirky characters which I think is why her acting career took off in the first place. I couldn’t picture anyone else portraying Lydia because she brought her to life so well. 

Heathers (1989)

After the success of Beetlejuice, she starred in Heathers as Veronica Sawyer. Veronica is much different than Lydia. She wants to be a part of the popular crowd until she realizes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. 

I feel like a lot of people can relate to Veronica because a lot of us wanted to fit in when we were in high school. I wasn’t one of them. Ryder does a great job at portraying Veronica’s innocence and desire to belong.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

2 years after the release of Beetlejuice, Ryder came back to star in another Tim Burton film, Edward Scissorhands. She starred alongside Johnny Depp as Kim Boggs. Kim is on similar level to Lydia but she’s not as quirky.

Ryder makes a great pairing with Depp. Their chemistry is really great in this. She looks good as a blonde. 

Mermaids (1990)

Ryder is Charlotte Flax in this 1990 film. Charlotte is different than other characters that she’s portrayed in the past. Charlotte is neurotic and anxiety-ridden. She has the huge fascination with Catholicism.

This film is so underrated and I actually love Charlotte. She’s relatable and trying to find herself. She has an imperfect relationship with her mother (Cher). 

Reality Bites (1994)

Ryder would go on to portray Leilana Pierce in this 1994 film starring alongside Ethan Hawke. Leilana is someone you want to be best friends with. She’s an aspiring filmmaker. 

I can relate to her being an artist and how she just trying to navigate life post-graduation from college. This film is one of my favorites of all time. Ryder and Hawke have great chemistry in this. Leilana is just cool. It was refreshing to see Ryder in a film like this since it’s so different than her past roles.

Stranger Things (2016—)

In 2016, Ryder made her small screen debut on Netflix’s hit series, Stranger Things. She portrays Joyce Byers, the mother of Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton). Joyce is protective over her kids and will do anything to keep them safe. She’s definitely changed over the show’s 4 seasons.

I love Joyce but sometimes she can be a little bit of an airhead. Not going to explain why because spoilers. It has been so great to watch her in her prime. 

What’s Next For Winona Ryder?

Her career has spanned decades and is known for many iconic roles. We’ll be seeing her again the 5th and final season of Stranger Things in the next couple years. I can’t wait to see what she does next after Stranger Things ends.