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Trivia
Birth name: Winona Laura Horowitz
Date of birth: 29 October 1971
Place of birth: Winona, Minnesota, USA
Nickname: Noni
Height: 5' 4" (1.63 m)
Her real hair color is blonde but when she
made her first major film, Lucas (1986), her hair color was dyed black.
She was told to keep it that color and it has stayed that color since.
Was engaged to Matt
Damon. [2000]
Her December 22, 1999, guest spot on
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) was her first-ever
appearance on a talk show. She did it to promote Girl, Interrupted
(1999), the first film on which she served as executive producer. She
clearly had first-timer's jitters but settled in comfortably.
Injured knee while filming Girl, Interrupted
(1999). [22 March 1999]
Ranked #42 in Empire (UK) magazine's the Top
100 Movie Stars of All Time list. [October 1997]
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50
Most Beautiful People in the World. [1997]
Born at 11:00am, CDT.
She briefly checked herself into a hospital
when she was 20, because she was suffering from depression, anxiety
attacks, and exhaustion, resulting from constantly working on films.
Graduated from Petaluma High School with a
4.0 GPA.
Received a star on the Walk of Fame in
Hollywood, California, in October 2000, and was voted Best-Dressed
Celebrity of the Week by Entertainment Weekly for the event.
Helped Italian designer Giorgio Armani
promote his Manhattan chain of stores. [1996]
Had to turn down the role of Nina in The
Object of My Affection (1998) due to scheduling conflicts. [1997]
Chosen as one of the Top Players Under 35
list by People magazine. [1996]
Began work on Girl, Interrupted (1999),
which took four more years to make it to the screen. [1996]
The role of Nola in Celebrity (1998) was
actually written for Drew
Barrymore. [1997]
Although there was no electricity on the
commune where they lived, when Winona was seven, her mother began to run
a old movie theater in a nearby barn and would screen movies all day.
She would allow Winona to miss school to watch movies with her.
Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch wrote a
part specifically for her in Night on Earth (1991), as a tattooed,
chain-smoking cabbie who dreams of becoming a mechanic.
She dedicated the film Little Women (1994)
to Polly Klaas, a young girl from her hometown of Petaluma, California,
who was kidnapped and brutally murdered. She offered a $200,000 reward
for anyone with information on the subject, and remains a strong
supporter of the Polly Klaas Foundation.
Auditioned for the Marla Singer role in
Fight Club (1999), which eventually went to Helena Bonham Carter.
Beat poet Allen Ginsberg was a close friend
of her parents.
Upset with MGM for refusing to pre-screen
Autumn in New York (2000), saying she was very proud of the film and
that the studio was giving it a bad name before it was even released.
[2000]
Refused to do promotion for Lost Souls
(2000). [2000]
Signed on to "The Girl You Want."
After a few weeks of pre production, she received a new version of the
script, which she hated, and tried to get out of her contract.
Touchstone Pictures threatened to sue her if she did, and so she
completed the film. The film's title was changed to Boys (1996) and sat
on the shelf for more than a year. After it finally got its release, it
was released in less than 100 theaters in North America and grossed less
than five hundred thousand dollars. [1995]
Her favorite book is J.D. Salinger's
"The Catcher in the Rye." She says she owns every paperback
edition and translations.
In late 1999, she started her own music
company, Roustabout Studios.
Presented Best Picture contender The Cider
House Rules (1999) at the 72nd Academy Awards. [March 2000]
Appeared on the season finale of
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) as herself. [19 May 2001]
Presented singer Björk at the 2001 Academy
Awards in the category Best Original Song.
Had to turn down the role of Alice Sutton in
Conspiracy Theory (1997), which went to Julia
Roberts, because of scheduling conflicts.
The film Lost Souls (2000), though it was
released in late 2000, was actually shot in 1998, and New Line Cinema
kept in on the shelf for two years.
Received a Grammy nomination for her reading
of "Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl." [1996]
Had one date with Old 97's frontman Rhett
Miller, who wrote the song "Rollerskate Skinny" about her.
Turned down the lead role in Sabrina (1995)
because she felt she could not fill Audrey Hepburn's shoes and that the
role was marked by sexism. [1994]
Her agent begged her not to do Heathers
(1989), saying her career would be over.
Enrolled at the American Conservatory
Theater in San Francisco at the age of 12.
The first house she bought was in the
Hollywood Hills. She soon moved, saying she never fitted in.
Says Sarah Miles's performance in Ryan's
Daughter (1970) inspired her to become a professional actress.
First auditioned for the role of Blanca in
The House of the Spirits (1993) when she was sixteen, but the part went
to Pernilla August. The film took years to get made, and when it finally
did, August had to drop out at the last minute due to pregnancy, and
Winona replaced her.
When she dropped out of The Godfather: Part
III (1990), rumors began to circulate that she was pregnant, that she
had been discouraged by then-boyfriend Johnny
Depp, had a drug problem, etc... She said in an interview later that
year that she arrived in Rome to film and simply could not get out of
bed. A doctor was called and ordered her to return home and sleep.
Dated Johnny
Depp for many years. He had a tattoo of her name and after they
broke up, he had it reduced to "Wino forever."
Was considered for the part of Janet in a
big-screen remake of "Three's Company" (1977) opposite Ben
Stiller and Cameron
Diaz, but the project was eventually cancelled.
Suffered severe stomach pains and doubled
over in pain. She was sent to her hotel room in London, England, UK, and
later was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with a severe
gastroenterological disorder. She left the UK on August 24th. The
sickness caused her to drop out of the film "Lily and the Secret
Planting (2002)," and her part eventually went to Kate Winslet
instead. Winona was said to have been very passionate about her role in
the film and was heartbroken to leave. The incident brought to mind the
similar 1990 stomach flu that caused her to drop out of The Godfather:
Part III (1990) two days before filming began, causing a lot of
controversy. [16 August 2001]
Was arrested in Beverly Hills for allegedly
stealing clothing items and carrying illegal pharmaceutical drugs
without a prescription. Her lawyer denied the accusations, and Winona
was released later that evening on $20,000 bail. Despite her alleged
crime, Beverly Hills police described her as "very friendly,
polite, and cooperative" and "a nice lady." [December 12,
2001]
Smokes a pack of cigarettes a day.
Appeared on the cover of the June 2002 cover
of W magazine wearing a "Free Winona" T-shirt. "Free
Winona" T-shirts became popular over the Internet following her
December 22, 2001 arrest, with many fans sporting them and purses in
support.
In March 2002, she appeared in her second
Caffé Latté commercial, as well as a commercial for Subaru.
Broke her arm during the filming of Mr.
Deeds (2002), in the scene where she and Adam Sandler are riding bikes
down a flight of stairs.
November 6, 2002. She was found guilty of
vandalism and grand theft in connection with the shoplifting charges
dating from back on December 12, 2001. Sentencing is scheduled for
December 6, 2002. She was acquitted of a third
charge, burglary.
Her sister is Sunyata Palmer and her brother
is Uri Horowitz
6 December 2002 - Sentenced to 480 hours of
community service, three years' probation, $3700 in fines, and $6355 in
restitution for her arrest on shoplifting charges.
Measurements: 34C-22-34 (1992- on set of
"Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)"), 35C-23 1/2- 34 (1996 designer
notes), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).
Was the host during Will Ferrell's final
episode as a regular cast member of "Saturday Night Live"
(1975).
Dropped out of Eulogy (2004).
Turned down the role of Katrina in Sleepy
Hollow (1999), which went to Christina Ricci.
A fan of the film Grey Gardens (1975).
Suffers from insomnia. She allegedly has had
a habit of talking on the phone with actor Al
Pacino, who also suffers from insomnia.
Suffers from aqua phobia due to a trauma she
received when she nearly drowned at the age of 12. This caused problems
when she had to act in some of the under-water scenes in Alien:
Resurrection (1997). The scenes had to be retaken endless times because
of this.
Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival
in 1998
Her friendship with best friend Gwyneth
Paltrow ended in the late 1990s because their lives grew apart.
Persuaded Universal Pictures to turn the
February 1994 Los Angeles premiere of :"Reality Bites" into a
benefit for the Polly Klaas Foundation. She also had enough clout to see
that Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" - Polly's favorite
book - was made into a film, with Winona in the title role and the film
dedicated to Polly Klaas.
She is the 2,165th star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame. Her great friend, Sir Anthony
Hopkins attended the ceremony. November 2000.
Billy Wilder and William Holden are two
artists for whom Ryder has great respect.
She serves on the Board of American Indian
College Funds.
March 17, 2000, San Francisco International
Film Festival awarded the prestigious Peter J. Owens Award to her for
brilliance, independence and integrity.
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