Romantic comedy legend Meg Ryan is renowned for her work in classics like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally.
Meg Ryan in a black sequined dress at the 2021 amfAR Gala Los Angeles at Pacific Design Center on November 4, 2021, in West Hollywood, California (Credit: DFree / Shutterstock)
Coined “America’s Sweetheart” due to all of her movies on the big screen, it’s no surprise that Meg Ryan has a generous net worth of $85 million as of 2023.
Megan Ryan was 20 years old when she joined the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns as Betsy Stewart with Scott Bryce as Craig Montgomery in 1982 (Credit: CBS)
Early Beginnings
Meg Ryan started on her acting journey when she was just 18 years old as Debby Blake in the 1981 American drama film Rich and Famous.
The following year, she made her memorable debut on a soap opera called As the World Turns. This isn’t what picked up her career, however.
Actress Meg Ryan on the set of the 2003 psychological thriller film In the Cut in New York City on August 5, 2002 (Credit: INFGoff)
Meg Ryan truly got her start in the business after she played the role of Carole Bradshaw in Top Gun, a movie that just got its sequel in 2022.
This supporting role paved the way for many more roles and showed the world that Meg Ryan is the perfect love interest.
Her Most Famous Films
Meg Ryan gained immense popularity in the 1990s, becoming a staple in the romantic comedy genre.
Some of her most iconic roles from this era include starring opposite Billy Crystal in the timeless classic “When Harry Met Sally…” (1989), teaming up with Tom Hanks in both “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) and “You’ve Got Mail” (1998), and sharing the screen with Kevin Kline in “French Kiss” (1995).
Meg Ryan was 37 years old when the American romantic comedy-drama film You’ve Got Mail was released on December 18, 1998 (Credit: Warner Bros.)
One of Meg Ryan’s most famous films contributing to her net worth is You’ve Got Mail, which paid $10.5 million to have the blonde star as the leading lady. In a 1998 interview with EW, she admitted to hesitating before accepting the role.
“I really loved the script and wanted to work with Tom and Nora again,” she said.
“But people were starting to get the idea that all I could do was romantic comedies. I’ve done something like 30 movies and only seven have been romantic comedies. But I was getting locked into that. It was starting to get irritating.”
Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks at the premiere of You’ve Got Mail in New York City on December 10, 1998 (Credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock)
For the 1998 American romantic fantasy film City of Angels, Ryan walked away with $8.5 million. She was reportedly paid another $15 million to star in the 2000 American action thriller film Proof of Life.
Meg Ryan shows off her feet in open-toe silver metallic sandals (Credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock)
While it’s not public record how much she made in her most famous films like When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, one can only imagine that their continued success has contributed to Ryan’s fame and net worth over the years.
Meg Ryan was reportedly paid $8.5 million to star as Dr. Maggie Rice with Nicolas Cage as Seth in the 1998 American romantic fantasy film City of Angels (Credit: Warner Bros.)
Meg Ryan’s Net Worth
Meg Ryan’s current net worth sits at $85 million, and if she never stars in another movie for the rest of her life, she will still be set.
She has starred in numerous successful films, such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail. Ryan has also produced several films, including Ithaca and Serious Moonlight, and endorsed a number of products.
The Actress Who Didn’t Want to Be an Actress
In the 1990s, it seemed like Meg Ryan was constantly working on a project or new film, but these days, she is living a much quieter life.
Meg Ryan shows off her size 11 (US) feet in black high-heel sandals (Credit: DFree / Shutterstock)
Ryan stepped away from the movie screen to focus on other things and decided to branch out.
Meg Ryan is seen walking around in a black coat and jeans in New York City on June 3, 2019 (Credit: Humberto Carreno / INSTARimages)
She said at the In Goop Health wellness summit in 2018, “You know, I never wanted to be an actress. The whole idea of being a famous person, the whole thing, I felt like a witness to. I didn’t feel exactly in it. And I think that was a really good thing. Because I felt like a student of it in a way, that I was watching it (unfold) in an anthropological way.”
“When you’re a famous person, there’s a certain degree of blankness that needs to happen so that people can project on you,” she added.
Tom Hanks was 33 and his co-star Meg Ryan was 28 years old when the 1990 American romantic comedy film Joe Versus the Volcano premiered on March 9, 1990 (Credit: Warner Bros.)
“Despite what you may think, people don’t really want to know all that much about you. They want to imagine the best or the worst. So, when you’re caught in that, it really is interesting because you get reactions that have almost nothing to do with you and some that have everything to do with you, and you have to be this jiu-jitsu master to figure out what mirror you should actually be looking in.”
Meg Ryan played Goose’s wife Carole Bradshaw in the 1986 American action film Top Gun and was 24 years old when the movie was released on May 12, 1986 (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
“When you get labeled anything like ‘America’s sweetheart,’ I didn’t even know what that meant,” Ryan admitted. “Nora Ephron’s parents wrote scripts in old Hollywood, and there was such a thing as America’s Sweetheart in the ’40s, and she decided to say that about me one day, and I remember thinking, ‘Is that good?’”
Meg Ryan was 31 and her co-star Tom Hanks was 36 years old when the American romantic comedy-drama film Sleepless in Seattle was released on June 25, 1993 (Credit: TriStar Pictures)
Though she never set out on this path and may decide to stay out of the spotlight for good, Meg Ryan is a name that makes everyone smile as they think back fondly on the sweet and hilarious films she has starred in. Whatever she decides to do, she will no doubt always keep a high net worth.