Winona Ryder’s net worth has improved dramatically after ‘Stranger Things’.  The actress who has gone through her share of ups and downs in life, has masterfully got her career in order, in her 40s.  Winona Ryder’s actual name is Winona Laura Horowitz.

The age-defying actress has been nominated for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Academy Awards, and a BAFTA Award, among other honors

 

Winona Ryder – Notable Movies

It was in the 1990s that Ryder became known for her more diverse parts in a wide range of genres.  Her breakout role in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1989) came just a few years after her feature film debut in Lucas (1986). A number of other notable parts followed, including those in Heathers (1989), Great Balls of Fire (1989), Mermaids (1990), and Edward Scissorhands  (1992). She was nominated for an Oscar twice in a row for her roles as May Welland, a socialite, in Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence (1993); and as Jo March in the fifth movie version of Little Women  (1994). Her other films during the 90s were Reality Bites (1994), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997) and Celebrity (1998). She also produced  Girl, Interrupted (1999) apart from co-starring as the protagonist.

 Early life

Winona Laura Horowitz was born to middle class parents on October 29, 1971 in Winona, Minnesota. Ryder and her family relocated to Petaluma, California, when she was ten years old. During her first week at Kenilworth Junior High, she was victimized by bullies who mistook her for a young boy. In 1983, Ryder, then 12 years old, participated in acting classes at the American Conservatory Theater  close to San Francisco.

Winona Ryder – Age, Height and other trivia

Winona Ryder  – First Movie and Breakthrough Role

In 1985, Ryder send a video-cassette of her audition, where she spoke a page long monologue from the book Franny and Zooey, in her bid to appear in the movie ‘Desert Bloom’. She didn’t get the part, but she was noticed and cast in her first film, Lucas (1986). Tim Burton decided to cast Ryder in Beetlejuice after seeing her in Lucas (1988).

Ryder played a goth teen whose family moves into a haunted house with ghosts played by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, and Michael Keaton. The film was a box office triumph, and both the film and Ryder’s performance garnered critical acclaim.

There was no turning back for this adorable charmer after the movie set the box office on fire, minting  US$74.2 million from a budget of just US$15 million.

Winona Ryder Shoplifting Case

Ryder was arrested in Beverly Hills, California, on December 12, 2001, for shoplifting $5,500 in expensive clothes and accessories from Saks Fifth Avenue.

As per   California’s Statute for Civil Recovery for Shoplifting, she signed two civil demands in the store’s security offices before being detained by Beverly Hills Police. These requests warranted her to pay for the stolen and returned property.

At the trial, Ryder was accused of using oxycodone, diazepam, and Vicodin without a prescription in an attempt to get intoxicated. Grand theft, shoplifting and vandalism were the charges she was convicted with; however she was cleared on the charge of burglary.

For her role in the theft, she was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of community service; she was also forced to pay Saks Fifth Avenue $6,355 in restitution.

According to Ryder’s account in Interview, the incident occurred when she was clinically depressed.

Ryder added that the quackery doctor’s prescription of powerful painkillers had affected her decision-making. After the highly publicized shoplifting incident in 2001, Ryder went on a five-year acting break.

 

Winona Ryder – Pictures

 Winona Ryder – Back in Demand

Things began to improve for Ryder when she featured in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010) as an ageing ballerina struggling to remain relevant while a younger, newer model (Ryder’s double, Natalie Portman)  gains prominence in the company.

In the 2015 HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, she played the president of the Yonkers City Council, which garnered her recognition.

With the release of Stanger Things (2016), in which she portrayed Joyce Byers, a single mother whose 12-year-old son unexpectedly disappears, Winona Ryder’s career moved to newer heights.  Additionally, Ryder was praised for her performance as the show became one of the most popular ones on Netflix. Stranger Things Season 4 debuted on May 27, 2022.

 

Winona Ryder – Husband and Boyfriends

Ryder was engaged to Johnny Depp from July 1990 through 1993.

She met him at the Great Balls of Fire! premiere in June 1989 and they started dating two months later.

She dated Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner from 1993 to 1996.

Winona Ryder testified in the high profile Johnny Depp – Amber Heard trial case, that Johnny Depp was never abusive to her when they were together.

Winona Ryder – Philanthropy

Ryder has worked for the American Indian College Fund, which sends low-income Native Americans to college, since her twenties.

Winona Ryder – Net Worth, Salary and Earnings

Season 3 of Stranger Things saw Winona Ryder earn $350,000 each episode, up from $100,000 per episode for the prior two seasons.

It’s estimated that Ryder’s net worth is around $18 million.

Winona Ryder – Homes

A listing of close to $5 million has been placed on the actress’s Victorian property in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow area.

According to public records, Ryder paid $1.3 million for the property in 1995 and stands to earn handsomely from the sale. Ryder’s three-story, 3,140-square-foot home, built in 1902, is located in one of San Francisco’s most affluent neighborhoods.

It was put up for rent at $15,000 a month for about a year until Winona decided to put it up for sale.

In 1998, Winona paid $2.6 million for a Spanish-style house in Los Angeles that was built in 1936.

She fetched $4.1 million when she sold the house in 2010.

For $2.2 million, she’d already sold an apartment in Manhattan.

Winona owns  a second house in Beverly Hills, and an apartment in New York City, according to reports.

How tall is Winona Ryder?

At a height of 1.61 meters or 5 feet 2 inches, she is one of the most petite actress in Hollywood. Of course, there is no denying that her cherubic cute face and her diminutive frame proved to be assets for people who fell in love with her for her screen presence.

Winona Ryder – Awards

Ryder has been honored for the following performances:

• 66th Oscars (1994): Best Supporting Actress, The Age of Innocence
• 67th Oscars (1995): Little Women’s Best Actress nomination

For her role as Joyce Byers in Stranger Things, she was nominated for a Golden Globe and two SAG awards, winning one in 2017.

 

Winona Ryder – Social Media

Winona Ryder does not participate in any form of social media because she cherishes her privacy.
She claims, “I am fortunate to have begun at the time I did.
As much as I enjoy it, I doubt I would have ever been an actor (if I was starting out now).
I would have no idea how to (handle it).
I am concerned about the extreme exposure at such a young age.”