She was a youthful idol and a very promising one actress. In her melancholy look and sweet and with an innocent face, the world (but also great directors) found the fragile girl next door who can live her own dream in Hollywood.
But expectations were dashed, perhaps because Winona Ryder he did not want to fulfill them. Unconventional from a young age, the beautiful actress saw the spotlight on her. Initially, because of her acting talent. Then because of her love affairs with her famous colleagues (Johnny Depp, Matt Damon) and then because of a scandal.
This was also the time when the lights fell on her greedily, ready to devour her, since that was selling. In the glamorous world of Hollywood, scandals sell and missteps get paid. Ryder, who was caught stealing in a Los Angeles department store in 2001, was also the ideal "victim." But the young actress, who was then at the peak of her career, turned her back on the system, deciding for several years to "self-exile" from Hollywood, who ostentatiously waved her finger. And since then, until today he lives a quiet life, reading books, as he always wanted.
Ryder was born in Winona, Minnesota and took her name from there. He did not see the first light of life in the hospital, but in the countryside, on a farm. The actress seemed to be in a hurry to come to life, and was born much earlier than scheduled. In fact, her father, in a panic, tied her umbilical cord with the cord from his shoes.
Unconventional the way he was born, unconventional and the way he grew up. Her family, although not hippies, nevertheless lived this way and so they raised Winona. They did not have a TV in their house, but there were many books that the 49-year-old actress loves.
The family moved to San Francisco, and because of her mother (she was a university professor) she came in contact with great people, such as Timothy Leary, a well-known American writer and psychologist, who was also Ryder's godfather. Winona grows up in an environment that loves the Arts and it will not be long before she discovers cinema and loves it.
At age 7, the family moved to Southern California, to a convent, with six other families. A place that for a child of her age would look ideal, since the children were constantly out in the countryside playing and laughing. But this was not the case for Winona, who was a closed character and had difficulty with the social part.
At the age of 11, her family moves again. But this time, the new place will be for the little girl the door that opened to enter the stage. In 1986 at the age of 13 she got her first role in the film Lucas. And he is enchanted. Two years later comes a second film, but the most important milestone for the little girl is her acquaintance with Tim Burton.
"I always have the feeling that I have a strange telepathy with him," the actress said about the renowned director and her mentor. Together they will make Scissors together in 1990 and the doors of Hollywood open for the girl with the melancholy beauty and innocence in her eyes.
In 1992 comes the milestone film for her career, which is none other than "Dracula". The young Ryder receives the best reviews and everyone talks about the young girl who has all the backgrounds to become a youthful idol. As it happened.
In the following years she will star in great films, while she was twice nominated for Oscars for the films "The Age of Innocence" and "Little Ladies". And while she knows one success after another professionally, something inside her "ate" her. And when she starred in "Girl, Interrupted" which was about mental health issues, she decided to talk openly about her own anxiety problems and depression, not caring if they would label her "mentally ill". After all, in the '90s you still could not speak openly about such sensitive issues.
Winona Ryder was (and still is) one of the most beautiful girls of her generation. So, it made sense to have a lot of conquests in the male audience. Her most famous relationship was with him Johnny Depp with whom they met on the set of "Psalidocheris" and became a favorite couple of the youth.
They were together for four years and Depp's love for her was so great that he tattooed "Winona Forever" on her arm. When they divorced, of course, he changed it to "Win forever / win (ona) fore ever". However, they have a good relationship, while Ryder had defended him in the accusations he was facing from his ex-wife for beating him.
Another famous relationship that did not last long was Matt Damon. However, although they were not sexual partners, the important man in her life is Keanu Reeves. They met Dracula and were so identical to the characters that they immediately got stuck. To this day, their favorite habit is to lock themselves in Reeves' house and watch movies for hours.
In fact, a while ago Ryder had revealed that with Reeves have had a Greek Orthodox wedding, for the needs of Dracula. To be precise, the scene of the ceremony is in a Greek Orthodox church in Los Angeles, with an orthodox priest. And as Coppola said, this marriage could be legally justified.
It was in 2001 that Winona was arrested in a well-known mall in Los Angeles with a theft worth 5 thousand dollars. Her photo during the arrest makes the rounds and the press with capricious headlines throws the "kleptomanous" resin on the young actress.
The scandal is taking on enormous proportions. She tries to defend herself, explaining that she is not a kleptomaniac. He says that day he was under the influence of drugs and was confused. Her explanations do not seem to be enough and Winona sees her career take a turn for the worse. The spotlight is on her and the fear she has created is causing her extra stress.
And there he makes the big decision. She turns her back on Hollywood and returns to San Francisco where she grew up. Her family supports her in these difficult times. For the next few years, Ryder, far from the glamorous world of Hollywood, is shooting mostly low-cost films, which, however, work as a ransom for her soul and help her stand on her own two feet. To find her footsteps and her wants.
The publicity, the flashes, the gold dust and all that's supposedly covered in glossy wrapper was not for her. It was a world away from hers. After all, as she herself had confessed a few years ago: "I trusted the drugs very quickly, I started taking sedatives and psychotropic drugs so that I have the illusion that the crazy course of the train of my life is calming down".
A crazy course that stopped abruptly, after the brake was pressed abruptly. From this very time, after the years of "self-exile" she managed to put her life in order and her wants.
Like the Phoenix, Winona Ryder was reborn from her ashes. He returned to Hollywood movies and TV series, but his turn Netflix Stranger Things, is for her the bet she won. And she may play a mother, but the role is so close to her character in life.
Today, Ryder is more mature than ever. She declares herself a "house cat" and continues to get lost in the pages of her books. Or watch her favorite movies for hours. He also hates social media. He says it is a fake world, with people who can easily stigmatize each other. And Winona Ryder knows very well what the fake world is like and how to be stigmatized.