Winona Ryder was named after the town in which she was born. Winona Ryder grew up in a ranch commune in Northern California which had no electricity. She is the goddaughter of Timothy Leary.

Her parents were friends of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Winona Ryder moved with her parents to Petaluma, California when she was ten and enrolled in acting classes at the American Conservatory Theater. At 13 Ryder had a video audition to the film Desert Bloom, but didn`t get the part.

Director David Seltzer, however, spotted her and cast Winona Ryder in Lucas. When telephoned to ask how she`d like to have her name appear on the credits, she suggested Ryder as her father`s Mitch Ryder album was playing the background.

Winona was selected for the part of Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III, but had to drop out of the role after catching the flu from the strain of doing the films Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael and Mermaids back to back. She said she didn`t want to let everyone down by doing a substandard performance. Winona Ryder later made The Age of Innocence, which was directed by Martin Scorsese, whom she believes to be "the best director in the world".