Meg Ryan didn’t want to be an actress; she wanted to be a journalist. As a journalism major at New York University, she took on acting roles only to make some side money for her studies.
Over 30 years later, she’s a major Hollywood star and was the most popular romantic comedy actress in the world, for more than two decades. With her quirky charm and blue-eyed, blonde-haired good looks, she became famous for her strong acting chops, and her undeniable comedy charisma.
Ryan first earned recognition for playing the character Betsy Stewart Montgomery, on the mega-popular soap opera series, As the World Turns.
She became so successful in her acting work, that she dropped out of college, left her journalism dreams behind, and worked on some of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 1990s. So, what are some of Meg Ryan’s best films?
8. Anastasia (1997)
The whole Russian royal family was murdered during the Russian Revolution, but some people believe that the tsar’s youngest daughter, Anastasia, survived. This musical animation features voice work by major actors, including Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, and Angela Lansbury.
Meg Ryan voiced the main character, the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna. In this fictionalized story, “Anya” grows up in an orphanage, and when she turns 18, goes out into the world to establish her identity as the Duchess.
7. Innerspace (1987)
This silly sci-fi comedy film showed the world that Meg Ryan is seriously funny. Starring Dennis Quaid as pilot Lt. Tuck Pendleton and Martin Short as a random hypochondriac, Quaid’s character is miniaturized and accidentally injected into Martin Short’s character.
This results in a wild adventure in which Martin Short shows off his physical comedy, as his character lives his best life, with a daring pilot’s personality stuck in his formerly fearful body.
Ryan plays a reporter who is also Quaid’s character’s ex-girlfriend in this Oscar-winning (for visual effects) movie, that has become beloved a cult classic.
6. Top Gun (1986)
Meg Ryan’s role in this Oscar-winning movie (for the song “Take My Breath Away”) was small, but she made such an impression that it effectively launched her film career. In fact, she was cast in Innerspace after appearing in Top Gun.
This was her feature film debut, and in it, she played Carole Bradshaw, Goose’s wife. Everyone loved Goose and Maverick (Tom Cruise’s character) in the mid-1980s. Top Gun was the highest-grossing movie in 1996, and remains a huge pop culture phenomenon, with Top Gun: Maverick coming out in 2022.
5. City of Angels (1998)
Meg Ryan starred in this fantasy romance film alongside Nicolas Cage.
Written as a more Hollywood-ized remake of Wim Wenders’ film Wings of Desire, the story follows an angel played by Nicolas Cage, who falls in love with Ryan’s character, a kind doctor.
The angel must choose between his own immortality or to transform into a mortal so that he can be in a relationship with the doctor. For her part, Ryan’s doctor has to open her mind to believe in things that science can’t explain.
4. You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have terrific chemistry, so they acted again together in this charming romantic comedy in this remake of the 1940 Ernst Lubitsch comedy, The Shop Around the Corner.
The film follows Ryan’s character Kathleen Kelly, a family bookstore owner who loses business after Tom Hanks’ character Joe Fox opens a massive corporate mega bookstore nearby.
Kathleen and Joe engage in a testy business rivalry, while unknowingly starting to think of each other romantically as anonymous online penpals. Ryan won a Golden Globe nomination for her comedic acting.
3. Sleepless In Seattle (1993)
Yes, it’s Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks together, again. But, who can blame the studios for wanting to capitalize on Hanks and Ryan’s incredible chemistry?
The story follows Hanks’ character Sam, a widower mourning his wife, whose child, Jonah (Ross Malinger), convinces him to call a radio talk show to share his feelings.
Ryan’s character Annie writes Sam, suggesting a romantic first meeting at the very top of the Empire State Building, like in the romance An Affair to Remember.
This is an unusual story in which the two romantic leads don’t even meet face-to-face until the very end of the film.
2. When Harry Met Sally. . . (1989)
Oh, you know that scene. You know the one. The scene where Meg Ryan shows Billy Crystal just how easy it is to fool a man, into thinking that the woman had a better time in bed than she actually did.
Meg Ryan rightfully won her first Golden Globe nomination for When Harry Met Sally . . ., with this movie crowning her the queen of romantic comedies.
It’s a beloved romantic classic, with many iconic scenes like the deli scene, and lines that are still being quoted to this day, like “I’ll have what she’s having.”
1. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
Can a film be dystopic and wholesome at the same time? Joe Versus the Volcano proves that yes, it can.
Tom Hanks’ character, Joe Banks, is a dying man. Joe doesn’t really mind, because his life sucks, anyway. Just look at his drab and dreary office — and pointless job.
Meg Ryan plays the millionaire’s daughter, Patricia, who meets and falls in love with Joe and decides to jump into the volcano with him. The volcano erupts, shooting Joe and Patricia out of it and allowing them to live happily ever after. And as for Joe’s terminal illness? No spoilers! Watch this weird and funny film to find out.