Every celebrity has their season: Mariah Carey is the “Queen of Christmas” (though that’s a little controversial), Nicole Kidman is apparently a “True Spring” according to color-analysis theory, and Megan Thee Stallion permanently owns hot girl summer. While one could certainly make the argument that fall belongs to Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham, personally, I’ve spent enough picturesque autumn afternoons rewatching Gilmore Girls to last me the rest of my life. So, I’m nominating Meg Ryan—queen of cozy vibes and choppy layers and the star of several unforgettably crisp-weather-appropriate sweater movies, including You’ve Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally—for the title of high priestess of fall.
Ryan, who is the mother of two children, Daisy and Jack, turns 62 this November, which makes perfect sense; I mean, would you expect someone who starred in basically every Nora Ephron movie about the glorious, sensorily overwhelming wonders of autumn in New York to have a birthday in July? For me, welcoming the cooler months of September and October will forever be synonymous with celebrating the Jewish New Year by braiding Claire Saffitz’s challah while I watch Harry and Sally pretend not to love each other for the umpteenth time…which makes Ryan a) my ultimate seasonal style icon and b) perhaps weirdly wrapped up in my conception of my Jewish idenity.
Like present-day Ryan, I live in California, much of which looks and feels the same in early October as it does in high summer (i.e. sweltering, celebrity-studded, and with nary a turning leaf to be found), so I’m celebrating the change of seasons with a deep dive into the lifelong affinity for preppy separates, tailored silhouettes, and killer accessories that has always put Ryan ahead of the style curve, onscreen and off. Join me in appreciating 31 vintage photos of a young Meg Ryan below:
