52 year old Meg Ryan had a passion for writing as a teenager and a dream to be a journalist, but the job that has since given her fame and fortune started off as just a way to pay for college in New York.
She said: "My main aim, at 18, was to become a journalist. I only started acting - in commercials - to pay my way through college in New York."
The 'Sleepless in Seattle' star was "intimidated" by everyone around her when she started working and struggled to "understand" her co-stars.
She explained to The Sun newspaper: "I was 19 when I was in my first film, 'Rich And Famous'. I played Candice Bergen's daughter and only had about ten lines, which I would repeat constantly every night. When I travelled to Los Angeles, it was the first time I had ever been on a plane. I was intimidated by everyone in those days. If you ever see the film, you will see me shaking in every scene. I did not understand actors. It was overwhelming."
Despite her very successful career, Meg - who has 21-year-old son Jack with ex-husband Dennis Quaid - admits she isn't always comfortable with fame and still struggles with rejection.
She said: "I've always had mixed feelings about fame. It means that you live out your worst moments in the public eye. I also learned that however successful you might be, you are always going to miss out on something. I took it badly whenever I got turned down for a role. Things either did not get sent to me or went to others first. Acting is like any other business -- you are judged with such abandon."
Tagged in Dennis Quaid Meg Ryan