Editing Meg Ryan (section)

== Early life ==
Ryan was born and raised in [[Fairfield, Connecticut]], to Susan Jordan (''née'' Duggan), a former actress and English teacher, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. Her father is of Polish descent.<ref name="Graham" /><ref name=bookref1>{{cite book |title=The Hollywood Book of Breakups |author=Parish, J.R. |date=2010 |publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1-118-04067-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gSh2HyQ8OsQC |access-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref> She was raised Catholic<ref name="Davidson" /> and attended St. Pius X Elementary School in Fairfield. She has two sisters, Dana ({{died-in|2022}}) and Annie ({{died-in|2019}}), and a brother, musician [[Andrew Hyra]], a member of the band [[Billy Pilgrim (band)|Billy Pilgrim]]. Her parents divorced in 1976 when she was 15.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800017434/bio |title=Meg Ryan|publisher=Yahoo! Movies |access-date=October 25, 2013}}</ref>

Ryan graduated from [[Bethel High School (Connecticut)|Bethel High School]] in 1979.<ref>{{cite web |title=1979 Bethel High Yearbook|url=http://www.classmates.com/yearbooks/Bethel-High-School/16028?page=56 |website=Classmates|access-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref> She studied journalism as an undergraduate, first at the [[University of Connecticut]] and then at [[New York University]]. During college, she acted in television commercials and the soap opera ''[[As the World Turns]]'' to earn extra money. Her success as an actress led her to leave college a semester before she planned to graduate.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpq-Iwu25s Ryan interview with Parkinson] on YouTube</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/10_october/24/parky_251003.shtml "Meg Ryan talks to Parkinson"], bbc.co.uk, October 24, 2003.</ref> When she joined the [[Screen Actors Guild]], she used the surname "Ryan", her maternal grandmother's maiden name.<ref name=bookref1 />