Meg Ryan Looks Glowing at Rare Red Carpet Appearance in Bosnia
Originally appeared on E! Online
Meg Ryan is hearing the beat of her own heart.
The You've Got Mail star was surrounded by love at the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina Aug. 20 as she was recognized with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award for her contributions to the film industry.
The 62-year-old—who last hit the red carpet in May for 2024 Met Gala alongside designer Michael Kors—was all smiles as she waved at fans, donning a tea-length gray dress paired with black Prada loafers and sunglasses.
During the ceremony, Meg—who received the honor alongside directors Alexander Payne and Elia Suleiman and actor John Turturro—was incredibly touched by the heart-shaped award, saying she knows the difficult history of the film festival, which was established in 1995 during Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.
"I just feel so happy to be able to be here," Meg said as she accepted the award in a video posted to Instagram, "and thank you face to face for your example during the siege."
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The actress was especially moved by stories she heard about "how this community came together, how you dodged bullets and risked your lives to go see films, to make music, to dance to music, to sing."
She added, "I mean you proved that art and culture are the resistance."
"You are proof that diversity is power, that art is whatever makes you feel less alone," she continued. "Thank you so much for this heart—you have mine."
Meg has kept a low profile over the last few years, but that hasn't stopped the Sleepless in Seattle star from publicly praising someone else who has her heart: her son Jack Quaid, whom she shares with ex-husband Dennis Quaid.
For starters, Meg definitely does not buy into the "nepo baby" label that gets attached to the children of famous stars.
"Jack is really talented," she told Glamour in November. "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."
But despite Jack's career success—he's acted in The Hunger Games, The Boys and Oppenheimer—moviemaking is not a path she originally pictured for her son.
"I remember seeing him in a middle school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was playing Bottom," she recalled. "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."
And Jack has taken his mother's praise with humility, recently responding after she clapped back at those calling him a "nepo baby."
"My first thought was like, she's being a mom," Jack told The Daily Beast in July. "She's being a loving mom."
"I think she's just trying to say that, in her opinion, it undermines my talent," he continued. "I don't think it undermines my talent. I know that I work hard, and I know I've heard 'no' way more than I've heard 'yes.'"
To take a look back at Meg's storied career, keep reading for a ranking of all her rom-coms.
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.
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.)
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.
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?!
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.
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...
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.
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...
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.
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