IT'S one of the best romcoms of all time - and Sleepless in Seattle celebrates its 30th anniversary this week.
It brought together actors Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, who went on to co-star in You’ve Got Mail five years later - cementing their status as Hollywood’s most romantic duo.
The movie, based on the 1957 film An Affair To Remember, follows Hanks' character Sam, who becomes a single parent after his wife dies of cancer.
His son Jonah calls into a radio station for advice on how to help his grieving dad, and journalist Annie Reed becomes obsessed with meeting him.
The tear-jerking moment they finally come together, on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day, ranks as one of the most romantic in romcom history.
The flick has an enduring quality which has thrilled audiences for three decades. Here we look at what happened in the lives of its biggest stars.
Tom Hanks
Tom, 66, almost starred opposite Meg four earlier when he turned down the lead role in When Harry Met Sally in 1989.
Tom’s wife of 34 years, Rita Wilson, said the actor refused because he couldn’t understand why the main character was sad about his divorce.
She said Tom was “very happy to be not married” after splitting from his first wife Samantha Lewes in 1987. They had two children together - Colin, now 45, and Elizabeth Ann, 41.
Hanks had two more boys with Rita - sons Chet, 31, and Truman, 27.
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After Sleepless, Tom landed a string of hit roles including Forrest Gump (1994), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Cast Away (1998) - making him Hollywood's hottest property.
The actor, who has bagged 50 awards, also starred in cult classics Big in 1988, The Da Vinci Code in 2006, Saving Mr Banks in 2013, and Sully in 2016.
He admits to being a diva on set - once comparing himself to the stroppy character in his 2023 movie The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.
He said: “I’ve had my tough days trying to be a professional when my life has been falling apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving - and it’s the last way I feel.”
Meg Ryan
Meg became the victim of Hollywood sexism when her marriage to Dennis Quaid, with whom she shares a son, imploded after she had a fling with Russell Crowe.
She met the Gladiator actor in 2001 on the set of Proof of Life. But behind the scenes her 10-year marriage to Quaid was falling apart. The actor, who fought substance abuse during his first marriage to actor PJ Soles, later admitted to being jealous of Meg’s success.
Meg, who went on to star in hits like When A Man Loves A Woman in 1994 and City of Angels in 1998, later denied Crowe was the reason for the split, alleging: “Dennis was not faithful to me for a long time, and that was very painful.”
She said the break-up had made her feel like a ‘scarlet woman’, and she lost her squeaky clean image as America’s sweetheart.
In 2003 she had an excruciating exchange with Michael Parkinson during an awkward interview about her poorly reviewed erotic thriller The Cut. Meg answered Parkinson’s questions with one-word answers and later told him to "wrap it up".
He insisted Meg was "rude and difficult" but in 2021 he admitted he could have handled the interview better.
Meg later said she felt "burnt out" by fame, adding: “I didn’t feel like I knew enough anymore about myself or the world to reflect it as an actor. I felt isolated.”
She went on to date rock star John Mellencamp on and off between 2011 and 2014, getting back together in 2017 when they got engaged.
But Mellencamp messed up their relationship saying: “I love Meg Ryan. She doesn’t love me so much. She’s a great girl. I’m just a s***** boyfriend’.”
These days Meg, 61, shuns the limelight and is dogged by plastic surgery rumours - something she refuses to confirm or deny.
Ross Malinger
Ross was just eight when he starred as Tom Hanks' on-screen son Jonah Baldwin.
Another child actor named Nathan Watt originally got the part but Hanks became annoyed when he kept repeating dialogue off camera.
Ross, now 38, went on to star with Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 1995 film Sudden Death and Kirstie Alley two years later in Toothless.
He also had a small role in Seinfeld and did voiceover work for the animated kids series Recess.
But Ross decided not to pursue a showbiz career and took a degree in sales and distributing in 2002.
He went on to work as a senior executive at a financial institution before landing a job as a car salesman in Los Angeles.
The dealership shut in 2019 and it’s not known where Ross is now.
He married wife Kelsey in 2011 but she filed for divorce after eight years according to TMZ.
Rita Wilson
Tom Hanks' wife was desperate to play Meg Ryan’s best pal Becky in the movie but landed the part of his sister Suzy instead.
Rita, 66, was pleased in the end and said playing Suzy was “one of the most fun, most wonderful acting experiences I’ve ever had”.
She married Tom after they met on the set of Bosom Buddies in 1981 and have one of the most successful marriages in showbiz.
After Sleepless In Seattle, she starred in her husband’s film That Thing You Do in 1996 before landing parts in Runaway Bride in 1999, Beautiful Ohio in 2006, It’s Complicated in 2009 and Dawn Patrol in 2014.
Rita took a step back when the couple’s sons arrived, saying: “I slowed down my work because I really wanted to be the mum that was there when they got home, drove the carpool and did all those things.”
She has also worked as a producer, making films such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding in 2002 and Mamma Mia! In 2008.
Tragedy struck in 2015 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.
She said she was “blown away” by the care her husband gave her.
Rita most recently starred in her husband’s film A Man Called Otto in 2022 about an autistic, grumpy widower whose life is changed by his friendship with an immigrant family.
Bill Pullman
Bill once joked he always played “the guy who loses the girl” after his character Walter was dumped by Meg’s Annie.
His on-screen personas were also given the elbow in A League of Their Own in 1992 and three years later in While You Were Sleeping.
Bill, now 69, went on to make it big with Independence Day, Lake Placid and The Equalizer.
The down-to-earth actor suffered a head injury aged 21 when he fell while rehearsing a play and lost his sense of smell and all feeling in his left elbow.
He was 32 when he got his first big role in Ruthless People in 1986 alongside Danny DeVito and Bette Midler and called himself a “late bloomer”.
He said: “When strangers say ‘I really like you in…I have no idea whether they are going to say Capser or Spaceballs or The Sinner. To have that variety in my work makes me feel lucky.”
Bill, who owns a cattle ranch in Montana, has been married to modern dancer Tamara Hurwitz since 1987, and they have three children - Lewis, 30, screenwriter Jack, 34, and singer-songwriter Maesa, 35.
Lewis recently followed his dad into acting, starring in Top Gun: Maverick last year.
Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie, 61, began her comedy career as a teen and got her breakthrough on the TV show Star Search in 1984.
She played Annie’s best friend Becky in Sleepless in Seattle and said she "channelled her inner Bette Midler" for the part.
Rosie also starred in kids films The Flintstones in 1994 and Harriet The Spy two years later.
She got her own daytime talk show in 1996, which ran for six years, and was nicknamed the ‘Queen of Nice’, before landing a job on daytime talk show The View in 2006.
Rosie had a public feud with Donald Trump after calling him a ‘snake-oil salesman’.
She struggled to get back into acting after her TV show.
Rosie came out as gay in 2002 and married marketing executive Kelli Carpenter two years later.
The couple adopted four children and Rosie adopted a fifth after they split shortly after tying the knot in 2004.
In 2012 she married Michelle Rounds, but they parted three years later.
Tragically Rounds, 46, killed herself in 2017, with Rosie saying: “You think love has the answer. But mental illness has no say.”
Gaby Hoffman
Gaby, now 41, played Jonah's friend Jessica in the movie after first finding success with Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams in 1989.
She also starred in Uncle Buck beside John Candy the same year but decided to take a break from acting.
She returned to Hollywood when she heard child actor Macaulay Culkin was making lots of cash and said her "competitive spirit got the best of her".
In 2013 she starred in the comedy Crystal Fairy & the Magic Cactus with Michael Cera and the following year was cast alongside Reese Witherspoon in Wild.
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In 2021 she landed a role next to Joaquin Phoenix in the drama C'mon C'mon. She has also won critical acclaim for her stage work.
Gaby has a daughter, born in 2014, with her longtime boyfriend, cinematographer Chris Dapkins.
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