Background
She was born to Leo (nicknamed Kelly) and Evelyn Ryan, and was the sixth of ten children.
She was born to Leo (nicknamed Kelly) and Evelyn Ryan, and was the sixth of ten children.
Bowling Green State University.
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio was a memoir of her life and that of her family, especially her mother, a 1950s housewife with 10 children who provided for the family by winning contests. The book was optioned by DreamWorks SKG and released as a theatrical film in November 2005. lieutenant starred Julianne Moore as Evelyn Ryan and Woody Harrelson as Kelly Ryan.
Jane Anderson was director and screenwriter.
Terry Ryan was a consultant on the film. With artist Sylvia Mollick, Ryan was also the cocreator of the long-running cartoon T.O. Sylvester in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Her account of her wedding, titled We Do!, was published by Chronicle Books. She graduated from Bowling Green State University.
In 2004, after the movie The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio was filmed, Terry discovered that she had Stage IV lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain.
On May 16, 2007, Terry died of cancer at her San Francisco, California home.