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Winona Ryder Says Polly Klaas Case Shaped ‘Little Women’ Dedication and ‘Stranger Things’ Performance

She recalls urging the series’ creators to treat disappearances with gravity.

Overview

  • In a new Interview magazine conversation reported this week, Ryder frames the 1993 kidnapping of Polly Klaas from her hometown as a lasting influence on her work.
  • She says she knew the family, that Klaas was missing for two months before being killed, and that witnessing the family’s grief felt “otherworldly.”
  • Klaas’s love of Little Women and her wish to act motivated Ryder to take the 1994 role of Jo March and dedicate the film to her.
  • Ryder says she spoke with Polly’s father while preparing the first season of Stranger Things and cautioned the showrunners against using disappearances as a mere plot device.
  • Coverage notes she raised awareness in the 1990s and reportedly offered a $200,000 reward for information related to the case.