Winona Ryder (born Winona Laura Horowitz on October 29, 1971) is an American actress.

Ryder was born in Olmstead County near Winona, Minnesota to Cindy Istas and Michael Horowitz, the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Romania. Her father's family was originally named 'Tomchin', but was wrongly assigned the name 'Horowitz' by U.S. immigration officials at Ellis Island. Ryder's parents named her 'Winona' after the town in Minnesota where she was born. She has a younger brother Yuri (named after Yuri Gagarin), an older half-brother Jubal and an older half-sister Sunyata. Notable family friends included her godfather Timothy Leary and beat poet Allen Ginsberg.