Who is Amy Ryan?
Popular American actress Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, was born in New York City USA, on 3 May 1968, making Taurus her zodiac sign. She’s had roles in over 70 TV series and movies, but is perhaps still known best for portraying Holly Flax in 17 episodes (2008-2011) of the hit comedy series “The Office”, which starred John Krasinski, Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer, and was created by Stephen Merchant, Greg Daniels and Ricky Gervais. It follows the lives of a group of typical office workers, the series aired from 2005 through 2013, and won 51 of its 246 award nominations.
Amy’s today still highly active in the film industry, and is shooting for the upcoming movie “Wolfs and Passing Through”, as well as for the upcoming series “Sugar”.
Education and early life
Amy was raised in New York City alongside her sister Laura, by their father John Dziewiontkowski who was the owner of a trucking business, and mother Pamela (nee Ryan) who was a nurse. Before becoming teenagers, Amy and Laura together delivered the “Daily News” newspaper using their bicycles.
Amy became interested in acting at a very early age, and her parents thus enrolled her at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Center. She went on to attend High School of Performing Arts, playing lead characters in a number of school plays; Amy matriculated in 1986, and was then chosen to tour with the cast of the play “Biloxi Blues”.
She appeared in a number of off-Broadway plays, prior to launching her career on TV.
Roles in TV series
Amy’s debut TV series role was playing Renee in a 1990 episode of the soap opera “As the World Turns”, and the ‘90s saw her appear in an episode or two of various series, including the action adventure “Quantum Leap”, the drama “Brooklyn Bridge”, and the drama mini-series “A Will of Their Own”.
In 2001 and 2002, Amy portrayed Rebecca Rifkind in the crime drama “100 Centre Street”, which starred Phyllis Newsman, Manny Perez and Joseph Lyle Taylor, and follows the people employed at a New York City’s courthouse; the series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series. What also marked the early 2000s for Amy was portraying Officer Beatrice ‘Beadie’ Russell in 20 episodes (2003-2008) of the crime thriller “The Wire”, which David Simon created, and which starred Sonja Sohn, Lance Reddick and Dominic West. It covers the Baltimore drug scene, the series aired from 2002 through 2008, and won 16 of the 70 awards for which it was nominated.
In 2010, Amy appeared in eight episodes of the drama “In Treatment”, and her following role came in 2015, when cast to portray Heidi Strand in the episode “Kirk Steele” of the comedy “Broad City”.
She’s since had roles in three more TV series, voicing Liesl von Trapp in the 2018 episode “Shall I Visit the Dinosaurs” of the short animated adventure “Robot Chicken”, playing Gigi in the 2019 episode “Breathwork” of the comedy “High Maintenance”, and Jan in 13 episodes of the 2022 crime comedy “Only Murders in the Building”.
Roles in movies
Amy’s debut film role was playing Beth in the 1992 crime mystery thriller “In the Deep Woods”, directed by Charles Correll, and which starred Rosanna Arquette, Anthony Perkins ofand Will Patton; it follows a woman who’s just met a private detective, and believes that he’s the killer her best friend.
A couple of Amy’s following roles were in the 1998 drama “Remembering Sex”, the 1999 drama “Roberta” and the 2000 drama “You Can Count on Me”.
The year 2004 saw her portray Lynn Bedik in the mystery thriller “Keane”, written and directed by Lodge Kerrigan, and which starred Damian Lewis, Abigail Breslin and Amy Ryan. It follows a man who’s searching for his missing daughter in New York City, and the film won two of its eight award nominations. Amy was then cast to appear in the 2005 action science fiction adventure “War of the Worlds”, which was nominated for Oscars for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, Best Achievement in Sound Editing and Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, the 2005 comedy “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World”, and the 2009 drama “The Missing Person”.
In 2014, she played Sylvia in the critically acclaimed comedy “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”, which Alejandro G. Iñárritu wrote and directed, and which starred Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis and Michael Keaton. It follows the life of a washed-up superhero actor, and the movie won 193 of its 486 award nominations, including four Oscars wins, some of which were for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Writing, Original Screenplay and Best Achievement in Directing.
Amy’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2020 biographical historical drama “Worth” and the crime mystery “Lost Girls”, and the 2023 horror comedy “Beau Is Afraid”.
Other credits
Amy sang the songs “Physical” and “Life Is a Highway” in two episodes of the series “The Office” in 2008.
She produced the 2009 drama movie “The Missing Person”.
Amy received special thanks for the 2011 drama mini-series “Mildred Pierce”, the 2019 romantic comedy “Almost Love”, and the 2021 horror mystery thriller “False Positive”.
Awards and nominations
Amy’s won 39 of her 71 award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, for “Gone Baby Gone”.
Some of her wins include a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and a Gold Derby Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast, both in 2015 for “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” (shared with colleagues), and a 2020 IMDb STARmeter Award for Fan Favorite.
Love life and husband
Amy’s been more or less successful at keeping the details of her love life away from the media’s attention. It’s still known that she began dating American screenwriter, producer and actor Eric Slovin sometime in the second half of the 2000s, and that she gave birth to their daughter in October 2009; Eric’s probably known best for writing 60 episodes (2002-2005) of the critically acclaimed comedy series “Saturday Night Live”.
The two exchanged vows in a small ceremony in 2011, and have since been living together in Los Angeles, California.
Amy’s yet to speak of other men whom she’s maybe been with, she’s married to Eric Slovin as of April 2023, and they have a daughter together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Amy launched her Instagram account ‘This Is Amy Ryan’ a while ago, but has only uploaded a single picture onto the social media network; she’s nevertheless followed by more than 9,000 people.
She likes to work out at the gym, and also goes for a run nearly every morning.
Amy’s a philanthropist and a lover of animals, and has donated money to several animal shelters and organizations which aim to help underprivileged children.
Her favorite singer is Lady Gaga, and her favorite song “Just Dance”.
Amy’s favorite actress is Emily Blunt, while some of her favorite movies include “A Quiet Place”, “The Girl on the Train”, and “Wild Mountain Thyme”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Amy’s age is 54. Her eyes are blue and hair’s blonde, she’s 5ft 3ins (1.61m) tall and weighs around 115lbs (52kgs).
Amy’s net worth’s been estimated at over $7 million, as of April 2023.