Meg Ryan is the defining romantic comedy actress of her generation, a performer whose timing, warmth, and gift for physical comedy made her the most bankable star in the genre across a decade when the genre was at its commercial peak. She broke through with When Harry Met Sally (1989) and went on to a career that includes Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), French Kiss (1995), and You’ve Got Mail (1998). Her three collaborations with Tom Hanks produced two of the most beloved romantic comedies ever made and cemented her as the actress the nineties turned to when a film needed to be liked on sight.

On screen, Ryan operated with a brightness and an improvisational looseness that made scripted charm feel genuinely spontaneous, and the diner scene in When Harry Met Sally (1989) remains one of the most discussed pieces of comic acting any actress has delivered in the genre. The blonde hair, the wide smile, and a face built for the close-up gave her a warmth that translated across every format and budget. She stepped back from film in the early two thousands, and the distance has only clarified how singular and how difficult to replicate that particular screen quality was.