Meg Ryan Reveals Why She Decided To Take 'A Giant Break' and Kept Out of the Spotlight

• Meg Ryan took a break from acting in 2015 and stayed away for eight years.
• The actress is now back on the big screen with a romance-comedy film that she directs and stars in.
• Meg took a big break in her career to focus on her other experiences in life, especially motherhood.

Meg Ryan is an actress, writer, and director. She has been featured in many feel-good romance movies such as "Sleepless in Seattle," "French Kiss," "When Harry Met Sally…," and "You've Got Mail." These movies brought fame to the actress.

However, after spending years in the Hollywood industry, she took a break. Meg's last project before she stepped back from acting was "Ithaca," the 2015 drama-war series, which was also the actress' directional debut.

Meg said she had to take "a giant break" from her acting career in 2015 after her directional debut because she wanted to develop her other experiences as a human being. One of these experiences was her role as her mom to her two kids, Jack, 31, and Daisy, 18.

The actress shares Jack with her ex-husband, Dennis Quaid. She adopted her daughter Daisy in 2006. The actress said she figured out that her acting career was just her job and not her lifestyle, so she knew she had to take a step back. She also said she felt burnt out and didn't know enough about herself and the world to keep being an actor.

Still, the actress admitted that there was a big difference in the way Jack and Daisy were raised.

Now, Meg is back in the Hollywood industry. She co-wrote the new romance-comedy film "What Happens Later," which will hit theaters on November 3, 2023. The idea for the film came to her during the lockdown period. The actress, who also directed the film, is starring in it alongside David Duchovny.

Meg said motherhood transformed her. Over the years, she has opened up about being a mother, parenting her two kids, and putting parenthood before her career. The actress also said being a mother helped her become a better actress and movie director.

Meg Ryan Opens up on Motherhood

Meg loves being a mom. During her break from her acting career, she traveled and bonded with her daughter, whom she had adopted a few years back from China, and her son, Jack. The adoption system in China then included a lottery system, so Daisy was randomly assigned to the actress.

However, she felt like there was nothing random about her daughter's adoption as she called her "the daughter I should have." The experience of having biological and adopted kids was different, but Meg never felt a different way about Jack and Daisy. She loved them both deeply in the same way.

Still, the actress admitted that there was a big difference in the way Jack and Daisy were raised. She said Jack has a father, so sometimes she and his dad may disagree on how to parent their son. But when it comes to Daisy, there wasn't any stress at all as she got to make the rules as the sole parent.

Meg is a loving and dedicated parent. She confessed that in the 12 hours she is awake every day, her focus is on her "kids' happiness." The actress wants her kids to be happy, so she spends her time figuring out how to provide for them, say the right thing, and fulfill all the other motherly roles.

Now, the actress has returned to acting, writing, and directing, but she has made it clear that her kids remain her priority. Meg said she is happy with her life, has friends she values and whom she is working on an e-commerce project with, and she's grateful for the state of grace she is in.