Marisa Ryan

Biography

Marisa Ryan is an American TV/ movie actress who made her debut through Without a Trace(1983) as Justine Norris, she is popular for playing Elizabeth Cooper McGillis in Major Dad(1989-1993), Abby in Wet Hot American Summer(2001), Viktoria in Cold Hearts(1999).

She has recently appeared in the TV series Divorce(2019) as Ursula.

[ Marisa Ryan ]

Childhood

Marisa Jodi Ryan was born on November 20, 1974, in Manhattan, New York, United States.

Marisa's father was an English teacher and mother a singer who became a counselor in a Queens public school.

Her parents divorced when Marisa was young, she grew up between her mother's home in Queens & her father's on the lower East Side of New York. She initially got interested in acting because of her parents' passion for acting. Her parents had met at H-B Studios. [2]

She grew up in 78th St. Park, She saw of Irish cliques, Puerto Rican gangs, Dominican crew, she had interesting teen years. [2]

Education

• IS 145: She attended "IS 145 Joseph Pulitzer" school in New York City for her initial schooling. [2]
• High School: Marisa attended Hollywood High School Center for Performing Arts

Husband- Marriage

Marisa Ryan & Nathan Graf

Marisa met Hollywood producer Nathan Graf in 2006. The couple dated for couple of years before getting married on 19th June 2009. Nathan has worked as an associate producer of the fantasy TV series SuperNormal in 2007(26 episodes), in the science-fiction comedy series "The Venture Bros." (2003-2006) (28 episodes)

Eloping with Jeremy Sisto & Marriage

At the age of 18, on 30 August 1993, Marisa eloped with Jeremy Sisto (an actor, producer, and writer; known for playing Scott in "Wrong Turn", Adam Stubbs in "May", Earl Hunterson in "Waitress")  to Las Vegas and got married on the very day. They lived together for 9 years and got divorced on 21st June 2002. He is now married to Addie Lane and has 2 children with her.

[ Marisa Ryan & Jeremy Sisto ]

She is Ex-daughter-in-law of Reedy Gibbs & Dick Sisto (parents of Jeremy Sisto) & Ex-sister-in-law of Meadow Sisto (sister of Jeremy Sisto).

Interesting facts

• Baby Model: Marisa appeared in a baby diaper commercial for Pampers as a 5 months old baby.
• Child actress: She made her debut as a child actress a the age of just 9. 
• Major Dad was the breakthrough project in Marisa's career, she had one of the main roles in the series.
• Early interest in direction: Marisa directed a short movie named Sessions at the age of 19, it wasn't a mainstream movie, but she earned experience with the movie-making. Her other directorial movie "Three Women of Pain," was aired on Sundance Channel.
• Marisa Ryan Nude scenes: Marisa has shed clothes in the movies Slaves to the Underground (1997) & Trash (1999), both of those were shot in her early 20s.
• Marisa has appeared in sequels to Wet Hot American Summer which were produced for Netflix- Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015) & Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017), she resumed her role as Abby in both.
• Marisa Ryan, the Psychic: There is a popular Psychic & Medium with the same name 'Marisa Ryan', must not be confused with this 'Marisa Ryan' (This Marisa's charms work, but entirely on the screen.)
• Tattingers: At the age of 13 she was selected for a role in the TV series 'Tattingers', Her mother wouldn't allow her to work anywhere outside New York City, Marisa's school wouldn't allow her to act fulltime while also studying, however, the series got canceled.
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Career

Debut: Marisa made her debut in movies in the role of Justine Norris in the movie Without a Trace(1983) as a child actress.

Marisa Ryan on Major Dad: At the age of 15 Marisa gained popularity through a major role in the TV series Major Dad(1989-1993), where she played Elizabeth Cooper McGillis, a recurring role throughout all seasons and all episodes.

Directorial Debut: Marisa started her directing career with the film Three Women of Pain, she is also the co-writer of the movie.

Filmography

Movies List

TV series List

Short movies List

Stage/ Broadway

Soundtrack

News & Updates

• She was covered in the Celebrity Sleuth magazine in 2002 (Volume 14, Issue 9, page 60-61) with the article titled- "Growth 'Spurts': Marisa Ryan"

Awards

• She was nominated for the Best Young Actress award for her role in Major Dad.

Quotes

• I had a lot of diversity in my friends, a lot of them are in the arts now themselves. They dig it. But the other ones who I hung out with on the streets of Queens, who were never into the arts, are laughing hysterically that I'm playing a cop! [2]
• I've been saying I'm 22 since I was 15 [2]
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Sources

1. Marisa Ryan wiki
2. Marisa Ryan- NY daily news
3.