Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra on Nov. 19, 1961 in Fairfield, Connecticut. She went to college for journalism and took on odd acting jobs in commercials and on the soap opera As the World Turns to make extra money. She was so successful that she decided to drop out of college a semester before graduation to pursue acting full time. When registering for the Screen Actors Guild, she decided to join with the last name “Ryan,” her grandmother’s maiden name.