Winona Ryder

Born:
Winona Laura Horowitz
October 29, 1971,
Winona, Minnesota, USA

Nickname: Noni

Raised in Petaluma, California

Father:
Michael Horowitz, writer; editor, publisher

Mother:
Cindy Palmer
Horowitz,
educational video producer; writer

Siblings: Sunyata, Jubal, and Uri

Godfather: Timothy Leary

Education:
Petaluma High School, 4.0 GPA;
American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco,

Significant Others:
Johnny Depp, engaged 1990-93.
David Pirner, lead singer, Soul Asylum, 1993-96
Matt Damon, actor, 1998-2000.
Also, Christian Slater, Daniel Day Lewis, David Duchovny, Chris Noth, and Beck.

     Named after the city where she was born, Winona Ryder is the third of four siblings. Her parents were hippie intellectuals, and family friends included poet Allen Ginsberg, and counterculture guru, Timothy Leary, who was Ryder’s godfather.
     The family lived briefly in Columbia with revolutionaries, then on a commune in Mendocino, California, where they did without television or electricity, and finally settled in Petaluma, California. There, Winona was home schooled and enrolled in the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco, where she was spotted by a talent scout. That meeting led to her debut role in Lucas (1986.)
    In December 2001, she was arrested for shoplifing roughly $5,000 worth of clothing from Saks Fifth Avenue. After a much-publicized trial, she was convicted on felony grand theft and vandalism in November, 2002, and was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of community service.
      Recently, Ryder was seen in SimOne with Al Pacino, and in Mr. Deeds, with Adam Sandler.