From Julia Roberts to Reese Witherspoon, there are several rom-com queens scattered throughout the kingdom, but Meg Ryan's filmography makes a very strong case for the crown. When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail — the charismatic actress has fronted some of the best romantic comedies of all time, and after a break from the silver screen, she returned to the beloved genre with 2023's What Happens Later. Along the way, the star has uttered some adorably funny quotes in her numerous rom-com flicks — here are 32 of our favorites.
"All Men Are Sure It Never Happened To Them And All Women At One Time Or Other Have Done It, So You Do The Math." - When Harry Met Sally...
The infamous Katz's deli scene from When Harry Met Sally... is the stuff of movie legend — it was reportedly Meg Ryan's idea to have her character fake pleasure in the middle of the restaurant — boosted by the cheeky banter between Sally Albright and Billy Crystal's Harry Burns.
"'Just Call Me Joe'? As If You Were One Of Those Stupid 22-Year-Old Girls With No Last Name? 'Hi, I'm Kimberly!' 'Hi, I'm Janice!' Don't They Know You're Supposed To Have A Last Name? It's Like They're An Entire Generation Of Cocktail Waitresses!" - You've Got Mail
For much of You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan's character Kathleen doesn't know that her e-mail pen pal is actually Joe Fox (played by Ryan's frequent rom-com partner Tom Hanks), her bookstore rival threatening to put her out of business. When she finds out that the "Joe" that she met at a book publishing party is actually the Joe Fox of big-box bookseller Fox Books, hilarity ensues.
"I Am Having All These Fantasies About Some Man I Have Never Even Met... Who Lives In Seattle!" - Sleepless In Seattle
The premise of the Nora Ephron-directed classic Sleepless in Seattle is certainly a romantic one — taking after An Affair to Remember, it follows a journalist (Ryan) who becomes enamored with a widowed architect (Hanks) after the latter's son calls into a talk radio program. That doesn't make it any less absurd, as Ryan's character Annie Reed hilariously realizes in the rom-com.
"Harry, You Might Not Believe This, But I Never Considered Not Sleeping With You A Sacrifice." - When Harry Met Sally...
Can men and women actually be friends? That's the whole thesis of When Harry Met Sally... and in the early days of Harry Burns and Sally Albright's connection — when they're merely snarky traveling companions — it certainly seems so, given that Sally doesn't seem to immediately swoon at the sight of Harry.
"Oh, Right. Where You Come From, Toast Is The Result Of Reflection And Study!" - Kate & Leopold
The 2001 sci-fi rom-com Kate & Leopold sees a 19th-century duke (Hugh Jackman) time-traveling to early-aughts New York City, where he encounters and falls in love with career woman Kate (Ryan). Given the contrast between their given time periods and vocations, it's not a shock that the twosome at times butt heads, such as when it comes to the effectiveness of the modern-day toaster.
"What Happens To Me When I'm Provoked Is That I Get Tongue-Tied And My Mind Goes Blank. Then I Spend All Night Tossing And Turning Trying To Figure Out What I Should Have Said. What Should I Have Said, For Example, To A Bottom Dweller Who Recently Belittled My Existence?...Nothing. Even Now, Days Later, I Can't Figure It Out!" - You've Got Mail
During one of the e-mail correspondences between Meg Ryan's "Shopgirl" and Tom Hanks's "NY152" in You've Got Mail, Kathleen Kelly bemoans her lack of finding the perfect insult to unleash when someone upsets her. As fans of the film know, she certainly finds those words later on during a heated run-in with Joe Fox.
"I Drove Him Away. AND I'm Gonna Be Forty...Someday!" - When Harry Met Sally...
Despite the copious tears that Sally Albright cries in this scene, it is one of the funniest in When Harry Met Sally... Meg Ryan's character is mourning the fact that her ex-boyfriend Joe (Steven Ford) has moved on and is getting married. Equally bad, she says, is that she'll soon turn 40 — in eight whole years, Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) jokingly reminds her.
"When A Man Is A Widower, Why Do We Say He Was Widowed? Why Don't We Say He Was Widowered?" - Sleepless In Seattle
Annie Reed's grammatical query in Sleepless in Seattle is a good one, especially since the man she is falling for is a recent widower. The sad backstory for Tom Hanks's character Sam Baldwin not only shaped the dynamic between him and his onscreen son (Ross Mallinger), but also reportedly Nora Ephron's script — Meg Ryan's character initially was written to have been recently dumped, but Sam's situation was deemed tragic enough already.
"Waiter, There Is Too Much Pepper On My Paprikash." - When Harry Met Sally...
This quote can arguably be credited to co-star Billy Crystal, too, since both Sally Albright and Harry Burns utter it in a memorable scene from When Harry Met Sally..., which sees the characters visit a museum and sillily converse about too much pepper on paprikash and “pecan piiiie.”
"It happened In Spain. People Do Really Stupid Things In Foreign Countries!" - You've Got Mail
Elderly bookkeeper Birdie (played by the one and only Jean Stapleton) in You've Got Mail has lived. Need proof? She may or may not have fallen in with Francisco Franco back in the 1960s. Kathleen (Meg Ryan) brushes it off as a mere case of traveler's overexcitement, to which boyfriend Frank (Greg Kinnear) retorts: "They buy leather jackets for much more than they're worth. But they don't fall in love with fascist dictators!"
"You See? That Is Just Like You, Harry. You Say Things Like That, And You Make It Impossible For Me To Hate You." - When Harry Met Sally...
With a speech like the one Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) gives to Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) at the end of When Harry Met Sally... — in which he details all of the random things he loves about her, from the fact that she gets cold " when it's 71 degrees out" and takes "an hour and a half to order a sandwich" — we can't blame her for getting teary-eyed.
"I'm Not Saying I Want Him Dead. But, Should That Occur... People Die Every Day, Why Should He Be Any Different? I'm Just Thinking On My Feet, Though. I Don't Have To Decide The Death Part Right Now, I Can Just Wait And See How I Feel Once His Dignity's A Thing Of The Past." - Addicted To Love
Trying to get over an ex is tough but Maggie (Meg Ryan) in the 1997 black comedy Addicted to Love takes it to another level — she seeks revenge on her ex-fiancé Anton (Tchéky Karyo) by partnering up with Sam (Matthew Broderick), the ex of Anton's new lover Linda.
"Yes, I Do, and I Just Told The Most Terrible One To The Man I'm About To Marry. Do You Feel That Any Lie Is A Betrayal?" - Sleepless In Seattle
Consider it a case of an overly loud jet engine — when Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) mistakenly thinks that her airplane seatmate asked her if she hates lying, instead of flying, she hilariously gives the stranger this overly intimate response during their flight to Seattle.
"You're Afraid Of The Commitment? You're Gonna Have To Love And Honor Me For About 30 Seconds, You Can't Handle That?" - Joe Versus the Volcano
Joe Banks (Tom Hanks) and Patricia Graynamore (Meg Ryan) definitely don't have what you'd call a traditional white wedding in the 1990 rom-com Joe Versus the Volcano — the new couple has to immediately jump into a fiery tropical volcano as part of a deal Joe made with Patricia's wealthy dad. (Don't worry, they ended up being fine.)
"Once I Read A Story About A Butterfly In The Subway, And Today I Saw One! It Got On At 42nd And Off At 59th, Where, I Assume, It Was Going To Bloomingdales To Buy A Hat That Will Turn Out To Be A Mistake, As Almost All Hats Are." - You've Got Mail
Before their identities are revealed at the end of You've Got Mail, Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) wins over Joe Fox's (Tom Hanks) heart with her funny musings over email, including this butterfly-related tangent. As Joe declares to a friend in the movie: "Kevin, this woman is the most adorable creature I've ever been in contact with."
"Did You Know There Are 452 Official Kinds Of Cheese In This Country, Isn't That Amazing? To Find 452 Ways To Classify What Is Essentially A Bacterial Process? Don't You Think That's Amazing?" - French Kiss
You can't really blame Kate (Meg Ryan) for waxing poetic about all of the fresh cheese you can find in France—the country sure knows its way around funky fromage. If she wasn't so busy unknowingly smuggling a stolen diamond necklace into Paris for Kevin Kline's Luc Teyssier, she'd have plenty more cheese-snacking time.
"Now Those Were The Days When People Knew How To Be In Love. They Knew It! Time, Distance...Nothing Could Separate Them Because They Knew It Was Right, It Was Real!" - Sleepless In Seattle
We can't blame Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) — who is a big fan of the heartbreaking Cary Grant classic An Affair to Remember— for conflating a movie romance with real life. We do the same thing every time we watch one of Ryan's rom-coms!
"I'd Like The Chef's Salad, Please, With The Oil And Vinegar On The Side And The Apple Pie A La Mode. But I'd Like The Pie Heated, And I Don't Want The Ice Cream On Top, I Want It On The Side, And I'd Like Strawberry Instead Of Vanilla If You Have It. If Not, Then No Ice Cream, Just Whipped Cream, But Only If It's Real. If It's Out Of A Can, Then Nothing." - When Harry Met Sally...
One of the loveable quirks about Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) in When Harry Met Sally... is that she's a waiter's worst nightmare, with very picky eating habits and a good deal of neurosis. Thankfully, in Harry Burns (Billy Crystal), she finds a romantic partner who not only doesn't mind her tableside fussiness but also finds it quite charming.
"I Have You To Thank For It. For The First Time In My Life, When Confronted With A Horrible, Insensitive Person, I Knew Exactly What I Wanted To Say And I Said It!" - You've Got Mail
"That was a perfect blend of poetry and meanness," a stunned Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) tells his bookstore rival Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) in You've Got Mail, after the latter had "a breakthrough" and delivered a scathing criticism of his character ("If I really knew you, I know what I would find. Instead of a brain, a cash register. Instead of a heart, a bottom line.")
"Not Once. It's This Very Cold, Hard Mexican Ceramic Tile." - When Harry Met Sally...
Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) mournfully recounts to her pal Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) how she and her ex Joe never took advantage of the fact that they didn't have kids and thus had all of the time and freedom to hook up on the kitchen floor. It was because the relationship wasn't right, and neither were the floors.
"I Love Daisies! They're So Friendly. Don't You Think Daisies Are The Friendliest Flower?" - You've Got Mail
Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) is totally right: this bloom-based observance that the bookstore owner utters in You've Got Mail is your reminder to go buy yourself a bouquet of daisies. Your day will instantly be brighter.
"Harry, You're Going To Have To Try And Find A Way Of Not Expressing Every Feeling That You Have, Every Moment That You Have Them." - When Harry Met Sally...
Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) has her fair share of quirks — her penchant for precise food orders, for one — but Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) is no slouch in that department, too, including his brutal honesty and brooding nature. Hence why Sally has to give him a needed dose of tough love when he loses it over an ugly wagon-wheel coffee table in When Harry Met Sally... It wouldn't be a good enemies-to-lovers story without it!
“What Are You Doing? What Is That? What Are You Doing? You’re Taking All The Caviar? That Caviar Is A Garnish!” - You've Got Mail
We don't know about you, but we'll never look out a bowl of Beluga pearls quite the same way after Kathleen Kelly's hilariously heated harangue over caviar etiquette in You've Got Mail. Equally funny is Tom Hanks' Joe Fox scooping up the bulk of the fish eggs just to spite her.
"It Means Nothing. It Was Written Before I Went Out There. Before The Ho. The Only Thing Is, She Didn't Look Like A Ho. She Looked Like Somebody We Would've Been Friends With." - Sleepless In Seattle
Annie Reed's support system in Sleepless in Seattle is in the funny form of BFF and editor Becky, played by Rosie O'Donnell. In one scene, the girlfriends have a gabbing debrief after Annie returns back from Seattle to scope out Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) and the "ho" he was dating.
"I Sleep Naked. It's The Only Way I'm Comfortable, So Don't Think Of It As A Come-on, Because If You So Much As Breathe In My Direction, I Will Nail Your Willy To That Beam." - Addicted to Love
In Addicted to Love, Matthew Broderick's Sam and Meg Ryan's Maggie are two jilted lovers who resort to a bunch of nasty schemes to break up their respective former partners. But clearly Maggie doesn't want them to confuse revenge with romance, as she sets clear boundaries about their sleeping arrangements.
"They Don't Make Sunday...because Of God." - When Harry Met Sally...
In the exceptionally talk-y romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally..., we learn a lot of intimate information about our leading lady Sally Albright (Meg Ryan), including that she wears days-of-the-week underwear. The set's lack of Sunday underpants hilariously caused some relationship issues with her ex Sheldon.
"No Dying Now, Mr. Messinger. Not Until You Give Me Seth's Phone Number." - City of Angels
In the 1998 fantasy-romance City of Angels, guardian angel Seth (Nic Cage) finds a human buddy in the form of Nathaniel Messinger (Dennis Franz), one of the hospital patients of Dr. Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan). Talk about a literal wing man!
"Jeff Said It Would Last Longer With The Show On To Distract Him. Got All The Answers Wrong Except For Sports. By Double Jeopardy!, He Was Done; By Final Jeopardy!, He Was On His Way Home." - French Kiss
In the '90s rom-com French Kiss, Meg Ryan's character Kate humorously offers up the details of her devirginization at 18 years old with a jock named Jeff. The experience apparently included a basement, Valentine's Day and, oddly, game-show legend Alex Trebek.
"She Was A Real Romantic, My Mom. When, When Prince Charles And Lady Di Got Married, She Had A Party, She Made Crumpets And Jam. It Was Like A Super Bowl Party, But For Moms. She Cried For A Week." - Kate & Leopold
Luckily for Kate (Meg Ryan) — and her mom — her romance with time-traveling gent Leopold (Hugh Jackman) turned out far more successful than the doomed marriage between Prince Charles and Diana Spencer.
"You Know, I'm So Glad I Never Got Involved With You. I Just Would Have Ended Up Being Some Woman You Had To Get Up Out Of Bed And Leave At 3:00 In The Morning And Go Clean Your Andirons, And You Don't Even Have A Fireplace, Not That I Would Know This." - When Harry Met Sally...
Little did Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) know, she very much did eventually get involved with Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) but luckily for these two enemies-turned-lovers, we don't think Harry would be kicking Sally out of bed in the wee hours anytime soon.
"Why Do You Wear The Same Clothes All The Time? Why Won't You Give Me Your Phone Number? Are You Married? Are You Homeless? Are You A Drummer?" - City Of Angels
Seth (Nicolas Cage) from City of Angels has a good answer to all of Maggie's (Meg Ryan) questions: she might be a mortal woman but he's actually a full-fledged angel!
"I Wanted It To Be You. I Wanted It To Be You So Badly." - You've Got Mail
Okay, sure, the final lines of You've Got Mail aren't exactly "ha ha" funny but it is ironically funny that the man Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) has been secretly pining for the whole time turned out to be her archnemesis Joe Fox (Tom Hanks.)
