5 days ago
10
Meg Ryan's Son Jack Quaid Reacts to His Mom Defending His Nepo Baby Status
Meg Ryan’s daughter Daisy True Ryan ended up in a rainy city of her own.
Indeed, the Sleepless in Seattle actress—who also shares son Jack Quaid, 32, with ex-husband Dennis Quaid—recently shared a rare update on what her 20-year-old is up to in the United Kingdom, along with her affinity for a certain English city.
“I’m a total anglophile and have this little London dream of living there one day,” Meg told The Sunday TimesDec. 15. “My daughter, she’s doing English literature at college here, but she’s hoping to study in Bath one day,”
The When Harry Met Sally star adopted Daisy from China in 2006 as a single parent, five years after finalizing her divorce from The Substance actor. And all of it was perfectly kismet.
“I always thought I’d adopt, and at various points I was on the brink of it,” Meg explained. “But it was particular to Daisy, I guess. I don’t know how events conspired to bring us together, but it was perfect.”
But the 63-year-old previously admitted that raising her kids in the spotlight worried her at times—especially when it came to the scrutiny a “nepo baby” might face when they try to find success of their own. After all, her son Jack was starting to make strides in his own Hollywood career.
“Jack is really talented. He’s more of a natural than I’ll ever be. That nepo stuff is so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege,” she told Glamour last November. “You don’t wish it [on anyone]. It’s too hard and it’s too weird.”
Despite the inevitable caveats that came with following in his mother’s footsteps, Jack—whose first screen appearance was in The Hunger Games—has starred in Amazon’s The Boys and played roles in films like Oppenheimer and Plus One. And Meg knew he was destined for success since the early days.
(Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
“I remember seeing him in a middle school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” she continued. “He was playing Bottom. I was newly divorced from his dad, and he was seated at the other side of the gym. I had my head in my hands and was like, ‘Oh, no. He’s good. He’s really good.’ I leaned forward, and I see Dennis, and he’s also leaning forward with his head in his hands. I just knew.”
As for how Jack copes with the nepo baby allegations? He was always confident in his own abilities to earn a place at the table.
"I knew that people would constantly say, 'Oh, I know how he got that job,'" Jack told Thrillist in 2022. "And they're still going to say that. It's fine. But as long as I knew how I got there, that would be enough."
And while Daisy and Jack are finding their own paths, keep reading to look back at some of Meg’s most iconic rom-com roles…
Moviestore/Shutterstock
Addicted to Love
Despite its talented cast, led by Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick as a revenge-seeking pair who pretend to date in order to get back at their former partners, this 1997 movie just puts the "meh" in Meg Ryan.
Snap/Shutterstock
I.Q.
We're not sure why, but this charming 1994 rom-com is largely forgotten about, despite the fact that Albert Einstein (played by Walter Matthau) steps in as matchmaker for Ryan's intelligent doctoral student and Tim Robbins' everyman mechanic. Forget squared, you could say E = MC paired. (We're so sorry.)
Bleecker Street / YouTube
What Happens Later
While the chemistry between Ryans, who directed this 2023 feature, and David Duchonvy was palpable, there was not enough romance or comedy. Still, it was refreshing to see such a mature take on a genre trope.
Moviestore/Shutterstock
Kate & Leopold
Time travel meets rom-com in this 2001 film that pairs Ryan with Hugh Jackman as a 19th century duke who finds himself in New York.
Loopholes, nonsensical time travel and kind of insane ending aside, Kate & Leopold is cute and charming, so who really needs science?!
Photo by Etienne George/Sygma via Getty Images
French Kiss
The plot was pretty complicated—a woman flying to France to confront hercheating fiancé finds herself in trouble when the crook seated next to her uses her to smuggle a stolen necklace in order to open a vineyard? Sure!—but Ryan and leading man Kevin Kline had a certainje ne sais quoi that made it all work.
Photo by Warner Brothers/Getty Images
Joe Versus the Volcano
Sure, audiences didn't initially erupt over this 1990 film—which marked her first pairing with Tom Hanks, more on that guy later—but it has developed a cult followng, thanks to its quirky premise and effortless chemistry between its leads. Alas, it's still an amuse-bouche for what was to shortly come...
Moviestore/Shutterstock
Sleepless in Seattle
A rom-com where the leads only share one scene? It shouldn't have worked. And yet...we were all swept off our feet when Annie (Ryan) and widowed father Sam (Hanks) met at the top of the Empire State Building and realize they are MFEO in this 1993 classic. We don't want to be in love, we want to be in love in this movie.
Still, despite its fairy tale-esque nature, Sleepless in Seattle isn't dream team Ryan and Hanks' best movie.
Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images
You've Got Mail
While Sleepless in Seattle gave us a taste of Ryan and Hanks' onscreen sparks, consider Nora Ephron's 1988 take on The Shop Around the Corner a decadent six-course meal, filled with simmering tension, sophisticated banter, and the perfect blend of snark and sappiness.
Sure, the technology and references may be outdated (LOL, remember AOL?), Ephron's witty dialogue and its movie stars' pure, well, movie star-ness have made You've Got Mail timeless.
Alas, there is the dream, the dream of some other movie that is just slightly higher on our ranking...
Moviestore/Shutterstock
When Harry Met Sally
Almost 35 years later, movie lovers will still have what she's having as this 1989 gem remains the gold standard of the rom-com genre.
A then largely unknown Ryan steals every scene she's in as the meticulous and high-maintenance Sally Albright, no easy task when partnered with comedy legend Billy Crystal. With one iconic fake orgasm, a star was born, with Ryan earning a Golden Globe nomination for her breakout role that simultaneously kicked off and cemented her run as America's Sweetheart.
Endlessly quotable—"Baby fish-mouth!"—and featuring knockout supporting performances by Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby, When Harry Met Sally has made it impossible to hate it.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
English (US) ·