Susan Blanchard Ryan is an American actress. After working in MTV and taking other minor parts on television and independent film, she starred in the 2003 film Open Water,^[1] for which she won the 2004 Saturn Award for Best Actress. She has since starred in the films The Brooklyn Heist and It's Complicated.

Ryan was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Andover. Her mother Brenda is a French teacher,^[2] and her father Ron Ryan was president of the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers and former coach and general manager of the Hartford Whalers. Ryan is an avid ice hockey fan. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts in political philosophy.^{[citation needed]}

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After graduating from college, Ryan worked at MTV in its special-effects department. She began acting in commercials while studying acting and improvisation in New York City. As an other actor named Susan Ryan was already registered with the Screen Actors Guild, Ryan instead used her middle name. In 2000, she appeared in an episode of Sex and the City. She appeared in the Broken Lizard films Super Troopers and Beerfest, as well as Big Helium Dog and several independent films. Ryan's most notable film role was in the 2003 film Open Water,^[1] for which she won the 2004 Saturn Award for Best Actress. Despite the film's success, she appeared in only one film in the next five years. She appeared in four films in 2008 and two in 2009, including Under New Management and It's Complicated.