Thanks to roles in Stranger Things and the latest A$AP Rocky video, Winona Ryder is as popular as ever – but how much do you know about her?
The year might only just be over a week old, but we already have a contender for most surprising star in a music video of the year. Not many people would have expected Winona Ryder to crop up in an A$AP Rocky video, but there she is in his latest track, Punk Rocky.
In the video, Winona stars as A$AP’s neighbour, who watches his punk band rehearsing while wearing a Beavis And Butthead T-shirt.
This is just the latest step in Winona’s impressive career renaissance in the past few years, which has also seen her garner a legion of new fans through her role as feisty mother Joyce Byers in Stranger Things.
But how much do you know about Winona Ryder? Here are some facts you might not know.
Ryder is a stage name
Like many Hollywood stars, Winona uses a stage name. While Winona is her given name – inspired by the city she was born in – her real surname is Horowitz. However, she took the stage name of Ryder, which she took in tribute to US rock musician Mitch Ryder, best known for his work with The Detroit Wheels. Winona was a big fan of Mitch Ryder’s music.
In addition, Winona’s middle name is Laura. Her parents gave her that name after their friend, Laura Huxley – wife of writer Aldous Huxley, who wrote Brave New World.
She married Keanu Reeves – sort of
Over the years, Winona has worked numerous times with fellow legend Keanu Reeves. Usually when they appear in the same movie, their characters are romantically linked.
With their obvious on-screen chemistry, for a while it was speculated that they might get together off-screen. While that never happened, they could actually be married. Ryder has spoken about a scene in Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Dracula, where her and Keanu’s character’s get married and a real priest was used to conduct the ceremony. While this is just a joke, apparently Winona starts her texts to Keanu with the greeting ‘hello husband’.
Winona almost turned down her big break
Winona’s big break in the cinema world came when she starred in Beetlejuice as Lydia Deetz in 1989 when she was just 15. However, she originally turned down the role, being unconvinced about the movie’s odd storyline. But, for whatever reason, Winona had a change of heart and took the role. Her instinct was right as the movie was a hit and it catapulted her to stardom.
Her passion for acting was born in a barn
Winona had something of an unconventional childhood, including spending three years living in a commune in California, along with seven other families and no electricity. But it was here that Winona’s passion for acting developed. On some nights, her mother would project films onto the side of the barn in the commune – and young Winona was hooked.
Winona grew up around famous writers
As mentioned, Winona’s upbringing was anything but conventional. Both her parents were writers and heavily involved in the art world, which meant that Winona grew up around famous writers such as beat poet Allen Ginsberg and sci-fi novelist Philip K Dick – Winona would later star in an adaptation of Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly.
She suffers from insomnia
Winona is well known for living with the condition insomnia – where a person experiences extreme difficulty sleeping. However, the condition led her to form a friendship with fellow actor and insomnia sufferer Al Pacino – the pair have been known to call each other at the dead of night to chat when they both can’t sleep.
