About
Ohio-born author remembered for a 2001 memoir entitled The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. The film adaptation of the work was released in 2005.
Before Fame
After graduating from Bowling Green State University, she settled in San Francisco, California.
Trivia
The DreamWorks film version of her popular memoir starred Woody Harrelson and Julianne Moore.
Family Life
She and her nine siblings grew up in Defiance, Ohio. Sadly, she died of lung cancer at the age of sixty.
Associated With
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom presided over Ryan's 2004 marriage to partner Pat Holt.
