Meg Ryan born November 19, 1961 in Fairfield, Connecticut, is an American actress who specializes in romantic comedies, but has also worked in other film genres.After her first role in a feature film, Rich and Famous (1981), Ryan (then using her screen name) played Betsy Stewart in the daytime drama As the World Turns from 1982 to 1984. Directors for this show especially liked working with her because she could cry on cue. Several TV film and smaller movie roles followed. Ryan guest starred on a showcase skit on The Price is Right in 1983.
Her first full blown hit in a leading role was the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989) which paired her with comedic leading man Billy Crystal. Her portrayal of Sally Albright, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, is particularly memorable for her depiction of a "faked orgasm" in a Manhattan delicatessen (actually shot at the legendary Katz's on E. Houston Street.) The film would be the first of three successful Nora Ephron films in which Ryan would be typecast as a bubbly, feisty, but incurable romantic. Meg Ryan had much success with her on-screen pairing with Tom Hanks; some compared their chemistry to Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. They starred in three films together: Joe Versus the Volcano, Sleepless In Seattle and their last, 1998's You've Got Mail, which was Ryan's last major box office success for some years to come. Ryan was nominated for a second Golden Globe for her work in Sleepless In Seattle.