¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Winona Ryder!

Born October 29, 1971.

She was once the definite female icon of her generation and she was also once described by a local film critic as having played almost every type of daughter that it was possible for a white actress to play in modern-day Hollywood. She is no longer as major a celebrity as she used to be but she is still hanging in there.

As you might have guessed, she has always been one of my favorite actresses, regardless of her current rep. If nothing else, I can readily understand why a certain character in the movie Primary Colors had a crush on women who looked like her because it seems like almost every heterosexual male my age or younger went through a period back in the day when they too had a crush on her. Of course, such crushes were never requited and I am quite sure that Ms. Ryder is probably glad to be too old to play Beatrice to a generation of would-be Dantes though she might still miss the days when she was director Tim Burton's main muse.

Oh, well. I hope she has a happy birthday today regardless.