After putting motherhood first and taking a break from the spotlight, Meg Ryan said she feels “balanced” and grateful for her time away.
The blonde beauty has been able to spend more time with her son Jack Quaid, whom she shares with ex-husband Dennis Quaid, and her daughter Daisy True Ryan, whom she adopted when she was 19 years old in 2006.
The 61-year-old star of the new romantic comedy What Happens Later, which also features David Duchovny, recently spoke with Entertainment Tonight about her time away from the spotlight.
The Sleepless in Seattle actor wanted to experience “life outside the Hollywood bubble,” so she took an eight-year break from acting.
Ryan recently told People magazine that she disappeared because she wanted to widen her horizons after spending most of her life immersed in her work and wanted to develop herself in other ways. She found it helpful to frame her experience as one of employment rather than a way of life.
As the reigning It Girl of the 1980s and 1990s, Ryan has had significant interactions with fans who recognize her from her numerous popular films.
Ryan’s breakout role as Betsy Stewart on the daytime drama As the World Turns came when she was just 21 years old in 1982. Ryan’s first significant film role was with Tom Cruise in Top Gun in 1986.
Ryan directed and co-wrote the screenplay for What Happens Next with Steven Dietz and Kirk Lynn, in addition to playing her first romantic comedy role in 15 years.
Willa and Bill are the names of the characters played by Ryan and Duchovny in the film. They are exes who reconnect at an airport during a snowstorm years after breaking up.
Since her directorial debut with the film Ithaca (2015), which starred her son Jack Quaid, What Happens Later is her first foray back into Hollywood in eight years.
