{{Infobox Airline |airline = Ryanair |image = Ryanair logo.svg |image_size = 280 |IATA = FR |ICAO = RYR |callsign = RYANAIR |company_name = Ryanair Holdings plc |founded = 1985 |headquarters = Dublin Airport, Ireland |key_people = The airline has been characterised by rapid expansion, a result of the deregulation of the aviation industry in Europe in 1997 and the success of its low-cost business model.

History

Ryanair has grown since its establishment in 1985 from a small airline flying a short hop from Waterford to London into one of Europe's largest carriers. After the rapidly growing airline was taken public in 1997, the money raised was used to expand the airline into a pan-European carrier. Revenues have risen from €231 million in 1998, to €1843 million in 2003 and €3013 million in 2010. Similarly net profits have increased from €48 million to €339 million over the same period.

Early years

Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Christopher Ryan, Liam Lonergan (owner of Irish travel agent Club Travel) and Irish businessman Tony Ryan (after whom the company is named), founder of Guinness Peat Aviation and father of Cathal Ryan and Declan. The airline began with a 14-seat Embraer Bandeirante turboprop aircraft, flying between Waterford and London Gatwick Airport with the aim of breaking the duopoly on London-Republic of Ireland flights at that time, held by British Airways and Aer Lingus.

In 1986, the company added a second route – flying Dublin–Luton International Airport in direct competition with the Aer Lingus / British Airways duopoly for the first time. Under partial EU deregulation, airlines could begin new international intra-EU services, as long as at least one of the two governments gave approval (the so-called "double-disapproval" regime). The Irish government at the time refused its approval, in order to protect Aer Lingus, but Britain, under Margaret Thatcher's pro-free-market Conservative government, approved the service. With two routes and two planes, the fledgling airline carried 82,000 passengers in one year. Passenger numbers continued to increase, but the airline generally ran at a loss and, by 1991, was in need of restructuring. Michael O'Leary was charged with the task of making the airline profitable. O'Leary quickly decided that the key to low fares was to implement quick turn-around times for aircraft, "no frills" and no business class, as well as operating a single model of aircraft. In 1987, a Short Sunderland was operated by Ryanair.

O'Leary returned from a visit to Southwest Airlines convinced that Ryanair could make huge inroads into the European air market, at that time dominated by national carriers, which were subsidised to various degrees by their parent countries. He competed with the major airlines by providing a "no-frills", low-cost service. Flights were scheduled into regional airports, which offered lower landing and handling charges than larger established international airports. O'Leary as Chief Executive took part in a publicity stunt, where he helped out with baggage handling on Ryanair flights at Dublin airport. By 1995, after the consistent pursuit of its low-cost business model, Ryanair celebrated its 10th birthday by carrying 2.25 million passengers.

1992–1999

In 1992, the European Union's (EU) deregulation of the air industry in Europe gave carriers from one EU country the right to operate scheduled services between other EU states and represented a major opportunity for Ryanair. After a successful flotation on the Dublin Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Stock exchanges, the airline launched services to Stockholm, Oslo (Sandefjord Airport, Torp, 110 km south of Oslo), Paris-Beauvais and Charleroi near Brussels. In 1998, flush with new capital, the airline placed a massive US$2 billion order for 45 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft.

2000–2006

The airline launched its website in 2000, with online booking initially said to be a small and unimportant part of the software supporting the site. Increasingly the online booking contributed to the aim of cutting flight prices by selling direct to passengers and excluding the costs imposed by travel agents. Within a year the website was handling three-quarters of all bookings. Today it is only possible to book seats via the website or via the "Ryanair direct" call-centre. No other possibilities are officially offered.

Ryanair launched a new base of operation in Charleroi Airport in 2001 The airport was relabelled as "Brussels South", even though it is 30 miles distant from the Belgian capital. Later that year, the airline ordered 155 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft from Boeing at what was believed to be a substantial discount, (taking full advantage of the downturn in airplane orders after the slump in air travel following the September 2001 aircraft attacks in the United States) to be delivered over eight years from 2002 to 2010. Approximately 100 of these aircraft had been delivered by the end of 2005, although there were slight delays in late 2005 caused by production disruptions arising from a Boeing machinists' strike.

In 2003, Ryanair announced the order of a further 100 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft.

In April 2003, Ryanair acquired its ailing competitor Buzz from KLM. By the end of 2003, the airline flew 127 routes, of which 60 had opened in the previous 12 months.

By mid 2004 the airline was operating from a total of 11 bases across Europe.

During 2004, Michael O'Leary warned of a "bloodbath" during the winter from which only two or three low-cost airlines would emerge, the expectation being that these would be Ryanair and EasyJet. A modest loss of €3.3 million in the second quarter of 2004 was the airline's first recorded loss for 15 years. However, the airline recovered posting profits soon after. The enlargement of the European Union on 1 May 2004 opened the way to more new routes as Ryanair and other budget airlines tapped the markets of the EU accession countries.

In February 2005, Ryanair announced an order for a further 70 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, along with an option for a further 70. This was expected at the time to allow Ryanair to increase passenger numbers from the 34 million expected in 2005 to 70 million in 2011. Some of these aircraft would be deployed at Ryanair's 12 European bases, others to 10 new bases the company intended to establish over the next seven years.

In June 2006, the company announced that in the quarter ending 30 June 2006, its average yields were 13% higher than the same quarter of the previous year and its passenger numbers were up by 25% to 10.7 million, although year-on-year comparison was difficult, because of the movement of Easter from first quarter 2005 to second quarter 2006. Net profits (€115.7 m) increased by 80% over the same quarter in 2005. Management indicated that the level of growth may not be sustained for the remainder of that year, despite adding 27 new aircraft and opening new routes.

Ryanair's passenger numbers have grown by up to 25% a year for most of the last decade. Carrying under 700,000 annually in its early years, passenger figures grew to 21.4 million in 2003. The rapid addition of new routes and new bases has enabled this growth in passenger numbers and made Ryanair among the largest carriers on European routes. In August 2004, the airline carried 20% more passengers within Europe than British Airways.

Ryanair posted record half-year profits of €329 million for the six months ending 30 September 2006. Over the same period, passenger traffic grew by more than a fifth to 22.1 million passengers and revenues rose by a third to €1.256 billion.

''Dispatches'' programme

On 13 February 2006, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary as part of its Dispatches series, "Ryanair caught napping". The documentary criticised Ryanair's training policies, security procedures and aircraft hygiene, and highlighted poor staff morale. Ryanair denied the allegations and claimed that promotional materials, in particular a photograph of a stewardess sleeping, had been faked by ''Dispatches''.

Aer Lingus takeover bid

On 5 October 2006, Ryanair launched a €1.48 billion (£1bn; $1.9bn) bid to buy fellow Irish carrier Aer Lingus. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the move was a "unique opportunity" to form an Irish airline. The "new" airline would carry over 50 million passengers a year.

Aer Lingus floated on the Irish Stock Exchange on 2 October 2006, following a decision by the Irish government to sell more than 50% of its 85.1% share in the company. Workers retained a 15% stake. The shares began trading at €2.20 each, valuing the firm at €1.13bn. Ryanair said it had bought a 16% stake in Aer Lingus and was offering €2.80 per share for remaining shares. On the same day, Aer Lingus rejected Ryanair's takeover bid, saying the bid was contradictory. With a total of 47% of Aer Lingus in the hands of the Irish Government, the employee share ownership trust and other entities that publicly rejected the bid and a further 4% in the hands of the Bank of Ireland and AIB, who were considered highly unlikely to sell, the takeover bid was effectively dead. The Ryanair website described the attempted takeover as, "In October...we make an all cash offer for the small regional airline, Aer Lingus".

2007

Fourth quarter 2006 profits far exceeded analyst expectations and over the period from October 2006 to February 2007, the stock rose by some 50%. The press suggested that Ryanair was now selling on its 737-800s at higher prices than the cost of acquisition from Boeing. They also noted that average fares keep increasing.

In January, following a BBC investigation, Ryanair conceded that a claim it had cut its CO₂ emissions by half in recent years was "an error".

In the meantime, Ryanair continued to expand and establish new European bases.

In May, Ryanair launched BING. This application brings daily fare specials to the user's computer.

On 18 July, the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ordered Ryanair not to repeat a claim that airline industry "accounts for just 2% of carbon dioxide emissions". The ASA ruled it breached rules on truthfulness by not explaining the figure was based on global, rather than UK emissions (which are 5.5% of the total) and exclude incoming flight figures.

In August, the company announced it would start charging passengers to check-in at the airport, therefore reversing its policy of paying for online check-in. It says that by cutting airport check-in it reduces overhead costs.

RyanAtlantic

Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, stated in April 2007 that Ryanair planned to launch a new long-haul airline around 2009. The new airline would be separate from Ryanair and operate under a different branding. It would offer both low cost with fares starting at €10.00 and a business class service which would be much more expensive, intended to rival airlines like Virgin Atlantic. The new airline would operate from Ryanair's existing bases in Europe, to approximately six new bases in the United States. The new American bases will not be main bases such as New York's JFK airport, but smaller airports located outside major cities. It is planned that the new airline will eventually operate a fleet of 40 to 50 new Airbus A350XWB or Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Since the Boeing 787 is sold out of production until at least 2012, and the Airbus A350 XWB will not enter service until 2013, this would contribute a delay to the airline's launch. It was not stated if other aircraft would be operated in the interim. O'Leary indicated that he intends to purchase the aircraft, when market prices for new aircraft recede, according to demand. It is said that the name of the new airline will be RyanAtlantic and will sell tickets through the Ryanair website under an alliance agreement.

In February 2010, O'Leary said the launch would be delayed until 2014, at the earliest, because of the shortage of suitable, cheap aircraft.

2008

On 31 August 2008 the ''Sunday Times'' reported Ryanair was saving money by pressuring pilots to limit their discretionary fuel reserves. The discretionary reserves are in addition to the legal requirement for 5% extra fuel to be carried as a contingency, plus adequate fuel reserves to divert to an alternative airport, plus enough fuel to hold for 30 minutes at the destination airport. Ryanair has already suffered one incident in the past three years due to a low fuel situation. This move was popular at all airlines because of the high cost of fuel in the summer of 2008. Carrying lower reserves allows the plane to get better mileage than when it is overloaded with the excess weight of unused fuel.

In October, Ryanair withdrew operations from a base in Europe for the first time. Ryanair was unable to reach agreement with the local authorities in Valencia, Spain, thus terminating many of its Valencia services after a year of operation, though some routes still remain open. It is estimated the closure cost 750 jobs. Ryanair has since reintroduced its Valencia base, doubling its previous capacity.

In November, Ryanair announced they were planning to offer United States bound flights for around 10 euros by the end of 2009. Such a move would still need to be negotiated and the relevant permissions obtained.

Second Aer Lingus Takeover Bid

On 1 December 2008, Ryanair launched a second takeover bid of fellow Irish airline, Aer Lingus. Offering an all-cash offer of €748 million (£619mil; US$950mil). The offer was a 28% premium on the value of Aer Lingus stock, during the preceding 30 days. Ryanair said, "Aer Lingus, as a small, stand alone, regional airline, has been marginalised and bypassed, as most other EU flag carriers consolidate." The two airlines would operate separately. Ryanair stated they would double the Aer Lingus short haul fleet from 33 to 66 and create 1,000 new jobs. The Aer Lingus Board rejected the offer and advised its shareholders to take no action. On 22 January 2009, Ryanair walked away from the Aer Lingus takeover bid after it was rejected by the Irish Government on the grounds it undervalued the airline and would harm competition. However, Ryanair retained a stake in Aer Lingus; in October 2010, competition regulators in the UK opened an enquiry; there are concerns that Ryanair's stake may lead to a reduction in competition.

2009

On 21 February 2009, Ryanair confirmed they were planning to close all check-in desks by the start of 2010. Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive said passengers will be able to leave their luggage at a bag drop, but everything else will be done online. This became reality in October 2009.

2010

In February 2010, Michael O'Leary threatened that if London Stansted did not give Ryanair any more low-priced landing fees, the airline would move many of its routes from Stansted to London Gatwick (which provided lower landing offers to the airline) and open a base there, or even pull out entirely from Stansted.

On 28 March 2010, Ryanair announced that the on-board mobile phone service would be temporarily unavailable. Michael O'Leary explained that the contract with OnAir (who provided Ryanair the service) had been terminated after a 13 month proving period. As a result, Ryanair have invited other in-flight communications providers to tender for access to Ryanair's in-flight phone service.

As of February 2010, Ryanair had an average fare of €32. Ryanair stood by that fact that its average fare was less than half of competitor EasyJet's of €66, and therefore called the rival carrier a "high fares" airline.

In April 2010, after a week of flight disruption in Europe caused by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, Ryanair decided to end refusals to comply with EU regulations which stated they were obliged to reimburse stranded passengers. The company had initially indicated it would only refund the price of unused tickets, but eventually agreed to comply with European Union legislation. However Italian authorities fined Ryanair €3,000,000 for failing to help passengers after cancelling their flights. In a company statement released on 22 April 2010, Ryanair described the regulations as 'unfair'. On 29 April 2010, Ryanair announced the cancellations of all of its routes from Budapest Ferihegy Airport, after talks about decreasing taxes with the airports management failed. Ryanair stated it would have opened 25 new routes from the Hungarian capital, if the taxes had been decreased. As Ferihegy Airport is the only one serving Budapest, the airline is not able to operate from an alternative low cost airport in the surroundings.

In June 2010, Ryanair called for a scrapping of the Irish Government's tourist tax and implied that it was destroying Irish tourism. Ryanair announced being back in the black with a €319m profit. and announced it would be cutting its winter schedule in UK by 16%, blaming the level of UK taxes on air tickets.

In June 2010, an Irish High Court judge said he has been driven to conclude "the truth and Ryanair are uncomfortable bedfellows" in light of Ryanair's conduct in challenging proposed new charges at Dublin airport for the five years up to 2014.

In August 2010, Ryanair held a press conference in Plovdiv and announced its first ever Bulgarian destination connecting Plovdiv with London Stansted. The service is planned to start in November 2010 with two flights weekly.

On the 31 August Ryanair announced that they would be withdrawing all their routes from their smallest base, Belfast City. Chief executive Michael O'Leary said: "While we recognise the right of the government and people of Northern Ireland to subject this small runway extension to an extended planning process, these repeated delays, the reference to a public inquiry, and now the further delay to the public inquiry for spurious noise reasons, shows a lack of willingness on the part of the local authorities to grow and develop traffic, routes, tourism and jobs in Northern Ireland.

"In these circumstances, sadly, we have better alternative airports elsewhere in the UK and Europe, all of whom are willing and able to provide us with the runway infrastructure and low-cost facilities we need in order to operate our lowest fare flights immediately, safely and profitably."

In September 2010, it was announced that Ryanair would be reducing flights from Shannon by 21% to 6 destinations due to rises in airport fees. Ryanair has also announced that starts routes from Larnaca to Brussels South-Charleroi and Girona by the end of the year.

On 23 September 2010 Ryanair announced via its website that it was reducing its thrice daily service from Kerry to Dublin, to a single rotation citing increased charges at Dublin Airport and Air Traffic Control levies. Ryanair alleged the Irish government had not increased the PSO subsidy in compensation. It now refuses the subsidy.

On 30 September 2010 Ryanair announced that it will start flights from Tallinn to 7 destinations in December 2010: Skavsta (near Stockholm), Weeze, Rygge (near Oslo), Dublin, Milano-Bergamo, Edinburgh and Luton.

2011

On 4 January 2011, Ryanair announced that its 2010 traffic grew by 10% from 65 million to over 72 million passengers.

On 21 February 2011 Ryanair announced that it will start flights from Vilnius to 5 destinations in May 2011: Barcelona-Girona, Dublin, London-Stansted, Milan-Bergamo, Rome-Ciampino.

In March 2011, Ryanair opened a new maintenance hangar at Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Making the Prestwick facilities Ryanair's biggest fleet maintenance base, performing all aircraft checks with the exception of D checks.The new hangar boosts capacity of the established maintenance facilities at the airport from two aircraft, to five. That same month, Ryanair is in breach of European Union rules by not offering an online complaints service to customers, according to the European Commissions European E-commerce Directive, any company selling goods online must offer customers the opportunity to complain via email. Ryanair currently has no email contact listed on its website instead requiring disgruntled customers to contact them by fax, letter or premium rate telephone number for urgent inquiries.

On 23 May 2011, Ryanair announced plans to temporarily cut capacity by grounding 80 aircraft in the winter schedules between November 2011 and April 2012 due to the high cost of fuel and continuing weak economic conditions. However, the airline will take delivery of 25 new aircraft over the coming months, but will not put them into service until April 2012.

On 14 July 2011, it was reported that Ryanair were looking to secure 40 - 50 new aircraft for transatlantic flights. .

On 90 Days 04 2011 to 06 2011 Financial Chief Howard Millar was giving 140 Million Dollar for Kerosin.

Business model

Employment relations

In the early years, when Ryanair had a total of 450 employees who each had shares in the company, there was an agreement that staff would not join a union on the basis that they would have influence on how the company was run. However, there were some early attempts to unionise Ryanair due to Michael O'Leary, board of directors, requesting that pilots take pay cuts and accept changes in their working conditions. Many of Ryanair's pilots were dissatisfied with the new moves and were represented by the Irish Airline Pilots Association. Ryanair's response was to outsource employees from other European countries. Though in later years, CEO Michael O'Leary, took a more hands on approach and could be seen working with other staff members on the front line loading bags and checking passengers.

Ryanair has been described by the consumer magazine, ''Holiday Which?'', as being the "worst offender" for charging for optional extras. As part of the low-cost business model the airline charges fees, these can be related to alternative services like using airport check-in facilities instead of the online service fee and using non-preferred methods of payment. It also charges for extra services like checked in luggage and it offers food and drinks for purchase as part of a buy on board programme. Ryanair argues that it charges for a large number of optional extras in order to allow those passengers who do not require baggage, priority boarding or other premium services to travel for the lowest possible price by giving customers the flexibility to choose what they pay for.

In 2009, Ryanair abolished airport check-in and replaced it with a fast bag drop for those passengers checking in bags. The option of checking in at the airport for €10 has been discontinued, and all passengers are required to check-in online and print their own boarding pass. Passengers arriving at the airport without a pre-printed online check-in will have to pay €40 for their boarding pass to be re-issued. Ryanair has also replaced the free online check-in with a €6 online check-in fee which is charged per person, per flight. Although this fee is waived on "Free", "€1" and "€5" promotional fares, it has been criticised as being a non-optional extra charge which should be included in the headline fare.

No-frills

New Ryanair aircraft have been delivered with non-reclining synthetic leather seats, no seat-back pockets, safety cards stuck on the back of the seats, and life jackets stowed overhead rather than under the seat. This allows the airline to save on aircraft costs and enables faster cleaning and safety checks during the short turnaround times. It was reported in various media that Ryanair wanted to order their aircraft without window shades; however, the new aircraft do have them as it is required by the regulations of the Irish Aviation Authority.

Other proposed measures to reduce frills further have included eliminating two toilets to add six more seats, redesigning the aircraft to allow standing passengers, suggested that passengers should pay to use the toilets, charging extra for overweight passengers, and asking passengers to carry their checked-in luggage to the plane.

In common with other no-frills airlines, Ryanair is a strictly point-to-point carrier and does not offer connecting flights. Passengers who purchase an onward flight from their destination, intending to make a connection, are held responsible for making it to the airport on time for each flight. Ryanair does not compensate passengers who miss their flights because they arrive too late at the airport, nor does it provide replacement tickets free of charge. If a passenger misses their flight, then it is the passenger's responsibility to buy a new ticket at their own expense. This rule applies regardless of the passenger's chosen method of transport to the airport (including another Ryanair flight).

Customer service

Ryanair has been criticised for many aspects of its customer service. ''The Economist'' wrote that Ryanair's "cavalier treatment of passengers" had given Ryanair "a deserved reputation for nastiness" and that the airline "has become a byword for appalling customer service ... and jeering rudeness towards anyone or anything that gets in its way".

In 2002, the High Court in Dublin awarded Jane O'Keefe €67,500 damages and her costs after Ryanair reneged on a free travel prize she was awarded for being the airline's 1 millionth passenger.

The airline has come under heavy criticism in the past for its poor treatment of disabled passengers. In 2002, it refused to provide wheelchairs for disabled passengers at London Stansted Airport, greatly angering disabled rights groups. The airline argued that this provision was the responsibility of the airport authority, stating that wheelchairs were provided by 80 of the 84 Ryanair destination airports, at that time. A court ruling in 2004 judged that the responsibility should be shared by the airline and the airport owners; Ryanair responded by adding a surcharge of £0.50 to all its flight prices. On 30 March 2011, it announced that from 4 April it would add a surcharge of €2 to its flights to cover the costs arising from compliance with EC Regulation 261/2004, which requires it to pay for meals and accommodation for passengers on delayed and cancelled flights.

Ryanair does not offer customers the possibility of contacting them by email or webform, only through a premium rate phone line, by fax or by post. An early day motion in the British Parliament put forward in 2006 criticised Ryanair for this reason and called on the company to provide customers with a means to contact the company by email.

Publicity

Controversial advertising

Ryanair's advertising and the antics of Michael O'Leary, such as causing deliberate court controversy in order to generate free publicity for the airline, have led to a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and occasionally court action being taken against the airline.

Another Ryanair tactic is to make deliberately controversial statements to gain media attention. An example of this was the live BBC News interview on 27 February 2009 when Michael O'Leary, observing that it was "a quiet news day", commented that Ryanair was considering charging passengers £1 to use the toilet on their flights. The story subsequently made headlines in the media for several days and drew attention to Ryanair's announcement that it was removing check-in desks from airports and replacing them with online check-in. Eight days later O'Leary eventually admitted that it was a publicity stunt saying "It is not likely to happen, but it makes for interesting and very cheap PR". The concept of Ryanair charging for even this most essential of customer services was foreseen by the spoof news website "The Mardale Times" some five months previously, in their article "Ryanair announce new 'Pay-Per-Poo' service".

Ryanair often use their advertising to make direct comparisons and attack their competitors. One of their advertisements used a picture of the ''Manneken Pis'', a famous Belgian statue of a urinating child, with the words: "Pissed off with Sabena's high fares? Low fares have arrived in Belgium." Sabena sued and the court ruled that the advertisements were misleading and offensive. Ryanair was ordered to discontinue the advertisements immediately or face fines. Ryanair was also obliged to publish an apology and publish the court decision on their website. Ryanair used the apologies for further advertising, primarily for further price comparisons.

Another deliberately provocative ad campaign headlined "Expensive Bastards!" compared Ryanair with British Airways. As with Sabena, British Airways disagreed with the accompanying price comparisons and brought legal action against Ryanair. However, in this case the High Court sided with Ryanair and threw BA's case out ordering BA to make a payment towards Ryanair's court costs. The judge ruled "The complaint amounts to this: that Ryanair exaggerated in suggesting BA is five times more expensive because BA is only three times more expensive. Accordingly, in my view, the use was honest comparative advertising. I suspect the real reason that BA do not like it is precisely because it is true."

In 2007 Ryanair used an advertisement for its new Belfast route which showed Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness (an ex-commander in the Provisional IRA) standing alongside Gerry Adams with a speech bubble which said "Ryanair fares are so low even the British Army flew home". Ulster Unionists reacted angrily to the advertisement, while the Advertising Standards Authority said it did not believe the ad would cause widespread offence.

Innuendo often features in Ryanair advertisements with one ad featuring a model dressed as a schoolgirl, accompanied by the words "Hottest back to school fares". Ryanair ran the advertisement in two Scottish and one UK-wide newspaper. After receiving 13 complaints, the advertisement was widely reported by national newspapers, generating more free publicity for the airline. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) instructed them to withdraw the advert in the United Kingdom, saying that it "appeared to link teenage girls with sexually provocative behaviour and was irresponsible and likely to cause serious or widespread offence". Ryanair said that they would "not be withdrawing this ad" and would "not provide the ASA with any of the undertakings they seek", on the basis that they found it absurd that "a picture of a fully clothed model is now claimed to cause 'serious or widespread offence', when many of the UK's leading daily newspapers regularly run pictures of topless or partially dressed females without causing any serious or widespread offence".

Allegations of misleading advertising

Ryanair was ordered by the ASA to stop claiming that its flights from London to Brussels are faster than the rail connection Eurostar, on the grounds that the claim was misleading, due to required travel times to the airports mentioned. Ryanair stood by its claims, noting that their flight is shorter than the train trip and that travel time is also required to reach Eurostar's stations.

In April 2008, Ryanair faced a probe by the UK Office of Fair Trading, after a string of complaints about its adverts. It was found to have breached advertising rules seven times in two years. ASA's director general Christopher Graham commented that formal referrals to the OFT were rare, the last occurring in 2005. He added that the ASA "would prefer to work with advertisers within the self-regulatory system rather than call in a statutory body, but Ryanair's approach has left us with no option." Ryanair countered with the claim that the ASA had "demonstrated a repeated lack of independence, impartiality and fairness".

In July 2009, Ryanair took a number of steps to "increase the clarity and transparency of its website and other advertising" after reaching an agreement with the OFT. The airline's website now includes a statement that "Fares don't include optional fees/charges" and they now include a table of fees to make fare comparisons easier.

In July 2010 Ryanair once again found itself in controversy regarding alleged misleading advertising. Ryanair circulated advertisements in two newspapers offering £10 one-way fares to European destinations. Following a complaint from rival carrier EasyJet, the ASA ruled the offer was "likely to mislead". Ryanair made no comment on the claim but did hit back at EasyJet, claiming they cared about details in this regard but did not themselves print their on-time statistics. EasyJet denied this.

In April 2011 Ryanair advertised 'a place in the sun destinations' but the advert was banned when it was found that some of the destination experienced sunshine for as little as 3 hours a day and temperatures between 0C and 14C.

Ryanair no longer replies to complaints from the ASA or its Irish equivalent, the ASAI.

Competitors

Ryanair now has a number of low-cost competitors. In 2004, approximately 60 new low-cost airlines were formed. Although traditionally a full-service airline, Aer Lingus moved to a low-fares strategy from 2002, leading to a much more intense competition with Ryanair on Irish routes.

Airlines which attempt to compete directly with Ryanair are treated competitively, with Ryanair being accused by some of reducing fares to significantly undercut their competitors. In response to MyTravelLite, who started to compete with Ryanair on the Birmingham to Dublin route in 2003, Ryanair set up competing flights on some of MyTravelLite's routes until they pulled out. Go was another airline which attempted to offer services from Ryanair's base at Dublin to Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. A fierce battle ensued, which ended with Go withdrawing its service from Dublin.

In September 2004, Ryanair's biggest competitor, EasyJet, announced routes to the Republic of Ireland for the first time, beginning with the Cork to London Gatwick route. Until then, EasyJet had never competed directly with Ryanair on its home ground. EasyJet announced in July 2006, that it was withdrawing its Gatwick-Cork, Gatwick-Shannon and Gatwick-Knock services; within two weeks, Ryanair also announced it would withdraw its own service on the Gatwick-Knock and Luton-Shannon routes.

Ryanair has asked the high court to investigate why it has been refused permission to fly from Knock to Dublin. This route was won by CityJet, which was unable to operate the service. The runner up, Aer Arann, was then allowed to start flights, a move Ryanair criticises on the basis that not initiating an additional tender process was unlawful.

DFDS Seaways cited competition from low-cost air services, especially Ryanair, which now flies to Glasgow Prestwick Airport and London Stansted Airport from Gothenburg City Airport, as the reason for scrapping the Newcastle–Gothenburg ferry service in October 2006. It was the only dedicated passenger ferry service between Sweden and the United Kingdom, and had been running under various operators since the 19th century.

Choosing destinations

When Ryanair negotiates with its airports, it demands very low landing and handling fees, as well as financial assistance with marketing and promotional campaigns. In subsequent contract renewal negotiations, the airline has been reported to play airports against each other, threatening to withdraw services and deploy the aircraft elsewhere, if the airport does not make further concessions. According to Michael O’Leary's biography "A Life in Full Flight", Ryanair's growing popularity and also growing bargaining power, with both airports and airplane manufacturers, has resulted in the airline being less concerned about a market research/demographics approach to route selection to one based more on experimentation. This means they are more likely to fly their low cost planes between the lowest cost airports in anticipation that their presence alone on that route will be sufficient to create a demand which previously may not have existed, either in whole or in part.

In April 2006, a failure to reach agreement on a new commercial contract resulted in Ryanair announcing that it would withdraw service on the Dublin–Cardiff route at short notice. The airport management rebutted Ryanair's assertion that airport charges were unreasonably high, claiming that the Cardiff charges were already below Ryanair's average and claimed that Ryanair had recently adopted the same negotiating approach with Cork Airport and London Stansted Airports. Ryanair was recently reported to have adopted 'harsh' negotiating with Shannon Airport and is closing 75% of its operations there from April 2010. Ryanair was forced to give up its Rome Ciampino–Alghero route, after the route was allocated to Air One, as a public service obligation (PSO) route. The European Commission is investigating the actions of the Italian Government in assigning PSO routes and thus restricting competition.

Destinations

Ryanair's five largest bases in order of size are London-Stansted (more than 120 daily departures), Dublin (more than 70 daily departures), Milan-Bergamo (approximately 70 daily departures), Brussels-Charleroi (between 45 and 50 daily departures) and Alicante (approximately 40 daily departures). Pescara airport is currently the airline's smallest base with approximately five daily departures from the airport. Some non-base airports have more daily departures than some of the base airports. Bratislava, Kraków, London-Gatwick, Palma de Mallorca and Paris-Beauvais are all non-base airports but have more daily departures than Ryanair's bases at Brindisi, Pescara and Shannon. Some of these non-base airports also serve more destinations than some of the airline's larger bases like Barcelona-Reus, Bremen and Bristol.

Ryanair flies in a point to point model rather than the more traditional airline hub and spoke model where the passengers have to change aircraft in transit at a major airport. Ryanair prefers to fly to smaller or secondary airports usually outside of major cities to help the company cut costs and benefit from lower landing fees. For example Ryanair does not fly to the main Düsseldorf airport, it instead flies to Weeze, 70 km from Düsseldorf. Secondary airports are not always far from the city it serves and in fact can be closer than the city's major airport; this is the case at Belfast, Gothenburg and Rome. Ryanair does still serve a number of major airports including Barcelona, Berlin Schönefeld, Dublin, Edinburgh, London-Gatwick, Manchester Airport and Porto although the majority of these cities do not have a secondary airport that Ryanair can use.

Ryanair has 44 European bases. Despite Ryanair's being an Irish airline, and having a significant presence there, it also has a significant presence in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom as well as many other European countries (although the airline has no bases in France and Poland). The United Kingdom is its biggest market, containing the airline's largest base and nine others, as well as a total of seven other non-base airports. Its three largest British bases in order of size are London-Stansted, Liverpool and East Midlands airports.

Ryanair's largest competitor is EasyJet, which unlike Ryanair has a focus on larger or primary airports and also heavily targets business passengers. Ryanair in more recent years has focused on sun destinations such as the Canary Islands and Greece. EasyJet often criticises Ryanair for its choice of airports and Ryanair often refers to EasyJet as a high fares airline.

Fleet

Ryanair claims to operate the newest, greenest and quietest fleet of aircraft in Europe. As of 13 July 2011, the average age of the Ryanair fleet is 3.6 years.

Ryanair's fleet reached 200 aircraft for the first time on 5 September 2009. The airline is expanding rapidly and will operate a fleet of 292 aircraft by 2012 with options for a further 10 aircraft to be delivered during that time. All aircraft in the Ryanair fleet have been retrofitted with performance enhancing winglets and the more recent deliveries have them fitted as standard.

Future purchases

In 2009, Ryanair announced that they were in talks with Boeing and Airbus about an order, which could include up to 200 aircraft. Even though Ryanair had dealt with Boeing aircraft up to this point, Michael O'Leary said he would buy Airbus planes if they offered a better deal. However, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy denied in February 2009 that any negotiations were taking place: "We are not in discussions with Ryanair about aircraft. [...] We don't have plans to enter a sales campaign with Ryanair, which would be very expensive and very time-consuming."

In November 2009, Ryanair announced that negotiations with Boeing had proceeded poorly and that Ryanair was thinking of stopping negotiations, now put at 200 aircraft for delivery between 2013–2016, and simply returning cash to shareholders. Furthermore, if negotiations have not been completed by the end of 2009, Ryanair will start a series of deferrals and cancellations of existing orders, and "end" its relationship with Boeing. Boeing's competitor Airbus was mentioned again as an alternative vendor for Ryanair, but both Michael O'Leary and Airbus CCO John Leahy dismissed this, with Leahy stating "With what I know of the pricing levels they have in mind, I think I can say this is one order that Boeing should win"

In December 2009, Ryanair announced that negotiations with Boeing had indeed failed. Plans were to take all 112 aircraft already on order at that point, with the last deliveries occurring in 2012, for a total fleet of 300. Ryanair confirmed that an agreement had been met on price, but they had failed to agree on conditions, as Ryanair had wanted to carry forward certain conditions from their previous contract. As of late 2009, Ryanair plans to return cash to shareholders after 2012, and has no plans, it states, to reopen negotiations with Boeing or any other air-framer.

In January 2011 it was reported that Ryanair is speaking with Russian and Chinese airplane producers, saying that these alternative manufactures could be a viable option for Ryanair. Possible candidates may include Irkut MS-21 and COMAC C919

Past fleet

Ryanair has operated the following types of aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

On 27 February 2002, Ryanair Flight RYR296 (Boeing 737-800, EI-CSA), from Dublin to London Stansted, was evacuated shortly after landing in Stansted, because airport personnel believed that one of the engines was on fire. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded that the release of oil from a broken engine bearing into the path of hot gas had caused the smoke and that there were no signs of fire damage. The investigation also found that although the aircraft was fully evacuated within 90 seconds, some members of the cabin crew struggled to open the emergency doors and had to be assisted by off-duty cabin crew travelling as passengers. Some passengers attempted to evacuate onto the right wing of the aircraft, before being turned back by firefighters. The investigation found that during training, cabin crew were informed that in an emergency, the doors are more difficult to open due to the need to activate the evacuation slides, but the majority of trainees never experienced the pressure needed. The investigation also made several recommendations to the Civil Aviation Authority, on how to better handle similar incidents in the future.

On 10 November 2008, Ryanair Flight RYR4102, from Hahn Airport, suffered undercarriage damage in an emergency landing at Rome Ciampino Airport, after experiencing multiple bird strikes, which damaged both engines on approach. The registration number of the aircraft involved was EI-DYG. There were 6 crew members and 166 passengers on board. Two crew members and eight passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The port undercarriage of the Boeing 737-800 collapsed, leaving the aircraft stranded on the runway and closing the airport for over 35 hours. As well as damage to the engines and undercarriage, the rear fuselage was also damaged by contact with the runway. Ryanair thanked the crew of Flight 4102 and praised their skill and professionalism, at a dinner held in Frankfurt. The aircraft involved was damaged beyond repair.

See also

List of airlines

List of companies of Ireland

List of low-cost airlines

References

Further reading

External links

Ryanair Magazine inflight magazine

Category:Airlines of the Republic of Ireland Category:Low-cost airlines Category:Airlines established in 1985 Category:European Low Fares Airline Association Category:Former IATA members Category:Ryanair

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name	Ryan Leslie
background	solo_singer
birth name	Anthony Ryan Leslie
birth date	September 25, 1978
birth place	Washington, D.C.
genre	R&B;, hip hop
occupation	Music producer, singer-songwriter, musical arranger, rapper
instrument	Guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums, vocals, trumpet
years active	2000-present
label	NextSelection Lifestyle Group, Casablanca Records, Universal Republic
associated acts	Cassie, Fabolous, Keri Hilson, Jadakiss, Booba, Jim Jones, LL Cool J, Lloyd Banks, Kanye West
website	http://www.ryanleslie.com/ }}

Anthony Ryan Leslie, known professionally as Ryan Leslie, (born September 25, 1978) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, entrepreneur, and singer. Founder of the media company NextSelection Lifestyle Group, Leslie has produced singles for a number of artists in a variety of genres ranging from R&B;/Hip-Hop to Pop to Gospel. From 2005–2006, he had his most commercial success to date with NextSelection/Bad Boy/Atlantic recording artist Cassie and her single "Me & U". Leslie's debut album, ''Ryan Leslie'' (2009), features the songs "Diamond Girl," "Addiction," and "How It Was Supposed To Be." He was nominated for a Grammy in 2011.

Biography

Ryan Leslie was born into a multicultural family. Leslie is the oldest son of mother (Evangeline) Mooi Leslie who is of Caribbean Dutch, Chinese, and African descent, and father Clement Leslie who is from Barbados and of Irish ancestry, raised in Trinidad. His parents are Salvation Army officers who frequently relocate for work. Ryan has lived in various states, cities, and countries. At an early age, Leslie taught himself how to play the piano under the guidance of Marc Styles. He developed the ability to recite music, as well as arrange chords to create songs. At the age of 14, Leslie scored a 1600 on his SATs—a perfect score—while attending Bear Creek High School, in Stockton, CA. In 1993, he applied to four University of California campuses as well as Stanford, Yale and Harvard. In his application essays he explained his interest in matriculating from his junior year in high school without having earned a diploma. He was accepted to all except for Stanford. He ultimately decided to attend Harvard College. At the age of 19, Leslie graduated from Harvard with a degree in Government, concentrating in Political Science and Macroeconomics. During his commencement ceremonies, Ryan delivered the prestigious Harvard Oration.

Music

During his freshman year at Harvard, Leslie devoted many hours per week to creating and developing music in a studio basement on campus. He taught himself basic production skills and also developed a musical style of his own. As the semesters progressed, Leslie spent more and more time in the school's studio molding his craft. He also performed many events around campus and was a part of the school's all male a cappella group The Krokodiloes. Due to the conflict with music and school, Leslie was put on academic probation three times during his college career. He has said in many interviews that during those college years, he became accustomed to getting 2 to 3 hours of sleep per night. To earn disposable income during these years, Leslie sold instrumentals to local artists in the Boston area.

After graduating college, Leslie urged his parents to allow him to go in to the music industry. They told him that he could have a better future considering he graduated from college at the age of 19. Leslie insisted that he was going to pursue his musical interests for two years and if he didn't like it he would stop. Leslie remained in Boston because of its music scene. He took on community service jobs to help support himself and would spend nights in the recording studio working on his music. Eventually, Leslie moved back home with his parents in Phoenix where he convinced them to take out a loan for a production studio so that he could pursue music full-time. He vowed to his family that he would pay back the $15,000 loan one day, even if it meant going back to school and getting a more traditional job. For the next several months, Leslie worked towards developing a distinct sound. During this period, Leslie has said that he ate and slept very little. In the summer of 2003, Ryan landed a production internship with producer Younglord. He has said in interviews that he considers this 30-day internship the jump-start of his career in the music industry. Within the first week, Leslie produced the song “Keep Giving Your Love To Me” that would later be performed by Beyoncé for the ''Bad Boys II'' soundtrack. The soundtrack was supervised by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was impressed by Leslie’s production style and offered him a management contract upon meeting him.

Under the management of Combs, Leslie worked on various Bad Boy Records projects including releases from Loon, Cheri Dennis, B5, New Edition and Danity Kane. During that time, Leslie also co-produced a record for Britney Spears. Also in 2003, Leslie was introduced by his then attorney Ed Woods to Tommy Mottola. Mottola soon became a mentor of Leslie’s and offered him a publishing deal with Aspen Songs and a recording contract with Casablanca, Mottola's imprint distributed by Universal Music Group. Under the mentorship of Mottola and Combs, Leslie signed then-aspiring model Cassie Ventura to his imprint, NextSelection in 2005.

In late 2003, Leslie began recording his debut album entitled ''Just Right'', and released two singles: "The Way That U Move Girl" and "Used 2 Be" (with Fabolous). The album was never officially released due to creative differences between Leslie and his record label.

Debut album, Transitions, & Leaving Label

Ryan Leslie returned to the studio in 2006 to record a new debut album. The lead single, "Diamond Girl", was released in December 2007. The video for "Diamond Girl" was premiered on ''BET’s 106 & Park'', and released on Leslie’s YouTube channel with a special behind the scenes clip. In November 2007, he released a video for a song named "I-R-I-N-A" that was produced in-house and released through his YouTube channel as well.

His second single, "Addiction," features pop singer and protege Cassie with a rap cameo from long-time collaborator, rapper Fabolous. The song was officially released in August 2008. Of the two music videos made for the song, the "Making of 'Addiction'" clip became Leslie's most popular video on YouTube, with more than 3.2 million views.

His third single, "How It Was Supposed To Be," also has two music videos: a rock version and a military take on the song, which was Leslie's directorial debut and was co-directed by model Tyson Beckford. The single was released March 23, 2009. After many setbacks, his self-titled album, ''Ryan Leslie'', was finally released on February 10, 2009. Leslie wrote, arranged, produced, and performed every song on his album. Notable instrumentalists on his debut set include Tommy Mottola, Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, and Brent Paschke.

Ryan Leslie enamored old and new fans alike (June 23) during the first of two back-to-back performances at New York City's Bowery Ballroom. The R&B; singer/rapper/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist(who parted ways with former label Universal Motown mid 2010) celebrated his new-found independence with performances of former hits like "Addicted" and "How It Was Supposed to Be," as well as two new tracks: "Glory" and "Maybachs and Diamonds."

"Never had a top ten, but they still respect my art," Ryan Leslie sang during "Glory," which is slated to be included on his third release, "Les Is More" -- his first independent album following 2009's self-titled debut and "Transition." "Maybachs and Diamonds" is a slow, groovy tune about flourishing his partner with more than just material things, like "Maybachs and Diamonds."

Initially, Leslie had a four-album deal with Universal, but toward the end of that contract, "Universal was interested in reshaping my deal to more of a 360, and they actually made a counter-offer from the initial recording fund," Leslie tells Billboard.com. "At that point I saw that as a window to potentially branch off and try something that was going to be new and dynamic."

While Leslie did not make any formal announcements about his departure from Universal Motown during the set, he took some subtle jabs at his previous label home. "I've always wanted to play these songs but I couldn't before," he said while singing "Guardian Angel." "I always felt like this song should be a single.

Les Is More

Ryan Leslie announced on Twitter and Facebook in January 2011, that his third album would be released July 4th, 2011. His first official single from the album released was 'Glory', despite the first singles performed being 'Beautiful Lie' and 'Breathe'. However Leslie would later announce on his website and Twitter account that the album has now been pushed back for a release 'This Fall'. On October 11th, he sent an e-mail to his fanbase saying "I promise 'Les Is More' is just a few weeks away.".

Les is More is now a visual album. So far "Glory", "Beautiful Lie", "Good Girl" and "5 Minute Freshen Up" are out on his website. The latter was released on March 20, 2012. "Dress You To Undress You" and "Swiss Francs" are still scheduled for release. Other Tracks Mentioned to be on the album by Leslie via his official Twitter are "Ready or Not" and " Live Good (Rivera Flow) Feat. Raekwon". Leslie has preformed the tracks "Breathe (Feat. Mr Hudson) and "One Lonely Heart" live and said they would be included on Les is More. "Joan Of Arc" was released in Mid-2011 and Leslie stated at that time that it would be included on Les is More.

Ryan Leslie has announced a date for his album "Les Is More" via Twitter. The artist's third album is set to be released on June 5.

Online presence

Leslie’s blog, YouTube channel, MySpace page and most recently Twitter have been the biggest contributors to his growing fanbase. His videos have become some of the most popular on YouTube, bringing accolades such as "Top 10 Most Subscribed Users". Leslie also posts videos documenting his interaction with his audience, including giving away free iPods, backstage passes to his concerts, and invitations to have dinner with him. His energy and creative spontaneity have earned him the respect from those inside and outside of the music industry. On his website/video diary, there is a clip featuring artists such as Boyz II Men, Chrisette Michelle, Musiq Soulchild, Keri Hilson, Christina Milian, and David Banner praising him for the inspiration they have received from his videos.

Prior to his 2009 MySpace Release concert, Leslie encouraged aspiring musical artists to utilize digital media while marketing themselves.

NextSelection Lifestyle Group

While working as a producer, Leslie went on to create NextSelection Lifestyle Group, his music-media company he founded with online marketing partner Rasheed Richmond. Ryan signed his first artist, Cassie in 2005. Under Ryan’s guidance, Cassie went on to become one of the fastest rising R&B; acts that year. Her breakout smash "Me & U" (written and produced by Leslie) spent 20 weeks on the Top 40 and went on to reach number three on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over a million digital units. Me & U also went on to become one of the biggest records in the history of Atlantic Records.

Recently, Ryan signed Krys Ivory as his newest act under NextSelection. He also signed YouTube star Mia Rose.

Musical influences

Leslie has stated in many interviews that Stevie Wonder is one of the biggest influences on his music. He attributes Michael Jackson, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown,VBak, Quincy Jones, The Beatles, Sconch & McGubbs, Tom Waits and D'Angelo as musical heroes as well.

Celebrity

Leslie was named one of "New York's 50 Hottest Bachelors" in 2009 by PageSix Magazine, published by the New York Post. He is currently romantically linked to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Model Kenza Fourati.

Discography

Studio Album

2005: ''Just Right (Unreleased)

2007: Used To Be (Mixtape)

2009: ''Ryan Leslie''

2009: ''Transition''

2012: ''Les Is More''

Awards/Nominations

BET Awards

*2009, Best Male R&B; Artist [Nominated]

*2009, Best New Artist [Nominated]

Grammy Awards

*2011, Best Contemporary R&B; Album: Transition (Nominated)

Soul Train Awards

*2009, Best New Artist [Nominated]

Academic Awards

2010, AMBLE Vanguard Award from Harvard University

References

External links

Ryan Leslie Discography & Production

Ryan Leslie on Soulrnb.com French Artist Page

Category:1978 births Category:Hip hop record producers Category:American record producers Category:American singers Category:American rappers Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Barbadian descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:American Internet personalities Category:People from Harlem Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:African-American businesspeople

da:Ryan Leslie de:Ryan Leslie fr:Ryan Leslie nl:Ryan Leslie sv:Ryan Leslie

name	Ryan Tedder
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ryan Benjamin Tedder
alias	AliasRyan "Alias" Tedder
born	June 26, 1979
origin	Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
genre	Pop rock, R&B;, alternative rock, teen pop
occupation	Singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist
instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, drums, clarinet, glockenspiel
years active	1999 – present
label	Columbia RecordsInterscope Records(2007–present)
associated acts	OneRepublic Far East Movement
website	}}

Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyonce, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis, Adele, and Paul Oakenfold. Tedder is credited with having written the two most played songs in radio history ("Apologize", "Bleeding Love"), a record broken only by himself. He has received 4 Grammy nominations, Record of the Year for Beyoncé's "Halo", one for Beyonce's album (Album of The Year), Record of the Year for Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love", one for Paul Oakenfold's album "A Lively Mind", and one for his own band OneRepublic's single "Apologize" (Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group).

Early life and education

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was raised by an extended family of missionaries and pastors. He began learning to play the piano at the age of three via the Suzuki method. His early interest in music was prompted by his musician father and school-teacher mother, who coaxed their young son into practicing piano in exchange for candy corn. Tedder started singing at the age of seven. A self-taught vocalist, Tedder began honing this skill at the age of twelve by imitating his favorite artists, who ranged from The Beatles to acts as diverse as Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder and Sting. He has commented, "I sang for two hours a day every day of my life until I was eighteen." He continued to perform musically during his adolescence through church, school, and personally formed groups.

In his senior year, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he met and became friends with future OneRepublic band-mate Zach Filkins on their soccer team at the Colorado Springs Christian School. He attended Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma and began to showcase his own material there. Tedder completed his college education and graduated from ORU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations and Advertising.

Career

Early musical career

For years Tedder worked as a waiter, and also as a shop assistant at Pottery Barn, before securing an internship at DreamWorks SKG in Nashville, singing on demos to break into the music scene. He produced demos for songwriters and labels, charging $300 to $400 a track. Tedder claims that DreamWorks offered him his first publishing deal shortly after his arrival; however, he was intent on pursuing a career as an artist and his first venture in that arena came via a different route all together.

At the age of twenty-one, Tedder competed in a singer-songwriter competition and was selected by 'N Sync singer Lance Bass as one of five finalists to perform on a one-hour special on MTV, performing original material in front of millions of viewers. The prize for the winner was a music contract with Bass's now-defunct management company, Free Lance Entertainment. The contestants performed live and were then rated by judges and the audience; the highest scoring artist winning the contract. Tedder's performance of one of his songs, "The Look", received the most votes from the judges and fans, and he won the competition; however, a contract with a recording label was not finalized and no album was released. Tedder later revealed the record and publishing deal he was offered "wasn't real. It was just a bunch of hype that didn't turn into anything."

Producing and writing

Before his eventual move to Los Angeles to start OneRepublic, Tedder caught the attention of the hip hop producer Timbaland. Tedder commented that he was with Timbaland from 2002-2004 to develop as an artist while producing for other artists at the time. Tedder's work crossed many musical genres (ranging from hip hop, R&B;, rock, pop to dance/techno) and he has had many chart successes both in America and the United Kingdom with a number of artists. In June 2007, Tedder signed a worldwide publishing administration deal with ''Kobalt Music Publishing''. The deal included Tedder's new works and all songs not performed by OneRepublic. Tedder is the writer of the worldwide smash hit, "Apologize", performed by his band OneRepublic, which as of 2008 is the best-selling and charting single of the decade. The song broke the US Top 40 Radio Airplay Record with 10,331 spins in one week. It was the number-one most played song for five months until May 7, 2008 when Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love" (a song that Tedder co-wrote and produced), broke the record previously set by "Apologize", with 10,665 spins in one week. "Bleeding Love" was the best-selling single of 2007 in the United Kingdom, topping the UK charts for seven weeks and was the fastest selling CD of 2007 receiving the most radio airplay worldwide prior to its US debut. The song also earned a ''Best British Single'' award nomination at the Brit Awards in February 2008 and reached number one in over 35 countries. Tedder and co-writer Jesse McCartney received an ASCAP award for writing the song. Tedder is also credited for writing the treatment for the second music video that was filmed for the US release of "Bleeding Love". It also earned a Record Of The Year nomination at the February 2009 Grammy awards.

Tedder has written and produced singles with artists such as Adele, Carrie Underwood, Leona Lewis, Jennifer Hudson, Alexandra Burke, Backstreet Boys, Beyonce, David Cook, Jordin Sparks, AJ McLean, Chris Cornell, Ashley Tisdale, Ludacris, Gavin Degraw, James Blunt, James Morrison, Paula DeAnda, Hilary Duff, Timbaland, Bubba Sparxxx, Dima Bilan, Shayne Ward, Lemar, Esmee Denters, Clay Aiken, t.A.T.u., Menudo, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Whitney Houston, Westlife, Charice, Varsity Fanclub, Sugababes, Daughtry, Mario, DJ Tiesto and a number of songs with various rock acts in the US and abroad. thumb|left|190px|Ryan Tedder laughing ♥ He worked with Kelly Clarkson on her 2009 album ''All I Ever Wanted'', penning the songs "If I Can't Have You", "Impossible", "Save You", "Tip Of My Tongue" and "Already Gone", which features vocals from Ryan. He also worked with Beyoncé on her album ''I Am… Sasha Fierce'', penning the song "Halo." The similarity between the songs "Already Gone" and "Halo" prompted Clarkson to publicly state that she did not know about "Halo" and that both songs were co-written by Tedder. Tedder's work with Beyonce also earned him two Grammy nominations with Record Of The Year for "Halo" and Album Of The Year for I Am...Sasha Fierce at the January 2010 Grammy Awards. Tedder worked extensively on Leona Lewis's second album ''Echo,'' writing and producing many songs with her, three of which have made the album, including the first single "Happy", "You Don't Care" which features vocals from Ryan and "Lost and Found", which features OneRepublic. Tedder co-wrote and produced Jordin Sparks' lead single "Battlefield" from her second album of the same name. Tedder worked on ''American Idol'' Season 8 runner up, Adam Lambert's debut album ''For Your Entertainment''.

More recently, Ryan is credited with writing and producing hits from some of 2011's most anticipated albums, including Adele's "21," Beyonce's "4," Colbie Caillat's "All Of You," Gavin Degraw's "Sweeter," among others.

In late 2009 Tedder launched his own record company, Patriot Records. Recently signed buzz artist Kay, will release her debut album through Interscope in 2011. Nikki Flores' single "City Lights" was released in the Fall of 2010 on Universal/Republic Records. Tedder also formed his own publishing company, Patriot Games Publishing, in 2009 in alliance with Kobalt Music Publishing Worldwide. To date he has a stable of top notch writers and producers, (Jerrod "SKINS" Bettis, Inflo, Noel Zancanella, and Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic) all of whom have upcoming songs by themselves with major artists and alongside Tedder himself.

Tedder is currently working with Leona Lewis, Demi Lovato, 50 Cent, Cody Simpson, Adam Lambert, Austin Brown, Javier Colon, K'Naan, Jason Derulo, Mike Posner, B.o.B., Carrie Underwood, Jason Mraz, Marina and the Diamonds, Hot Chelle Rae, Dan Black, Safetysuit, and Lights (musician) on their forthcoming studio albums. He was featured in Far East Movement's hit single "Rocketeer".

In 2011 he composed a new song for Vanness Wu, "Is this All" in Taiwan.

Tedder was also a judge for the 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

OneRepublic

As well as producing, Tedder also sings lead vocals and plays guitar and piano for the band, OneRepublic. The five member band consisting of Tedder, Filkins, Eddie Fisher, Drew Brown, and Brent Kutzle was formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002 by Tedder and his high school classmate Zach Filkins. Tedder has since revealed that the band was formed at a "crossroads" in his life: "I was offered two publishing deals within two months of being in Nashville…I could have just written songs and lived a carefree life, but I knew that I had to be an artist. I wanted to form a rock band and create my own sound." Based in Los Angeles, OneRepublic started out as an unsigned act on the social networking website, MySpace. Since June 2004, they have accumulated over fifty million plays for their music on the site. As of 2009, they are the number-one band on MySpace and have been in the MySpace Music's Top Artists since the summer of 2006.

The band gained further exposure when their 2007 single, "Apologize", was re-mixed and re-released on Timbaland's compilation album, ''Timbaland Presents Shock Value''. The remix became an international chart hit in the fall of 2007. The song broke records after gaining 10,331 spins in one week. According to SoundScan, "Apologize" is the most legally downloaded song in US digital history with sales of over 4.3 million digital downloads in the US alone. It is also the second best-selling song of the decade. OneRepublic's debut album, ''Dreaming Out Loud'', includes both the song's original version and version with Timbaland, and was released on November 20, 2007 on Timbaland's Mosley Music Group imprint via Interscope Records. The band had previously been signed to Columbia Records, and their album was due to be released in 2006, but this did not occur. Tedder explained, "Crap happened. People got fired. Labels merged and politics abounded". Subsequently, the band was released from their deal with Columbia, and they were signed by Timbaland in the summer of 2006 becoming the first rock band to be signed to Mosley Music Group. Tedder has commented on the success of his band's hit single, "Apologize": "The toughest thing to do is write a hit song, but we had a hit song before we had an album… What has happened has been really strange and really great."

Tedder is a multi-instrumentalist. During OneRepublic's performances, he often switches from singing lead vocals to playing guitar, bass guitar, glockenspiel, tambourine or piano. On rare occasions, he plays drums alongside the band's main percussionist, Eddie Fisher.

The band finished recording their second album, titled "Waking Up" on August 25, 2009, and released their lead single, "All the Right Moves" to radio and iTunes everywhere except Germany and Austria, where "Secrets" was released instead. The album was released on November 17, 2009 in the United States. To date, the second US single, "Secrets" has reached over 2M digital downloads, and third single "Good Life" continues to climb the charts, breaking into the Top 10 on iTunes and radio everywhere.

Other projects

Patriot Records and Patriot Games Publishing/Kobalt were both founded by Tedder. Artist signings at the label include Nikki Flores and newcomer buzz artist, Kay. Kay's debut album is set for release through Interscope in 2011. Nikki Flores' single "City Lights" was released in the Fall of 2010 through Universal/Republic. The Patriot Games Publishing roster includes Jerrod "SKINS" Bettis, Noel Zancanella, OneRepublic cellist/bassist, Brent Kutzle, and Inflo. The Patriot team of writers and producers are credited with "I Was Here" Beyonce, "Good Life" OneRepublic, "I Just Had Sex" The Lonely Island Feat. Akon, "Lost Then Found" Leona Lewis with OneRepublic, "Just A Guy" BC Jean, "Count On You" Big Time Rush Feat. Jordin Sparks and "And Then We Dance," the #1 hit single from Australia's Got Talent winners Justice Crew. Patriot Games songs will also be featured on upcoming releases by, Leona Lewis, Cody Simpson, K'naan, Demi Lovato, B.o.B., among others.

Personal life

Ryan Tedder is married. He openly acknowledged and thanked his wife, Genevieve, in the liner notes of OneRepublic's debut album ''Dreaming Out Loud''. Ryan and Genevieve have a son, Copeland Cruz Tedder, born on August 2, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. Tedder's cousins, Adam, Ashley and Austin Clark comprise the band Sons of Sylvia and were formerly in The Clark Family Experience. He co-wrote their song "Love Left to Lose".

Writing and production credits

References

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:People from Tulsa, Oklahoma Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:Oral Roberts University alumni Category:American male singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American pianists Category:Songwriters from Oklahoma Category:American record producers

bg:Райън Тедър de:Ryan Tedder es:Ryan Tedder fr:Ryan Tedder it:Ryan Tedder he:ראיין טדר mk:Рајан Тедер nl:Ryan Tedder ja:ライアン・テダー pl:Ryan Tedder pt:Ryan Tedder ro:Ryan Tedder ru:Теддер, Райан simple:Ryan Tedder sv:Ryan Tedder

playername	Ryan Giggs
fullname	Ryan Joseph Giggs
dateofbirth	November 29, 1973
cityofbirth	Cardiff
countryofbirth	Wales
height
position	Midfielder
currentclub	Manchester United
clubnumber	11
youthyears1	1985–1987 |youthclubs1 Manchester City
youthyears2	1987–1990 |youthclubs2 Manchester United
years1	1990– |clubs1 Manchester United |caps1 614 |goals1 110
nationalyears1	1990 |nationalteam1 Wales U21 |nationalcaps1 1 |nationalgoals1 0
nationalyears2	1991–2007 |nationalteam2 Wales |nationalcaps2 64 |nationalgoals2 12
pcupdate	22:14, 22 August 2011 }}

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season. He established himself as a left winger during the 1990s, and continuing in this position well into the 2000s, though he has been increasingly used in a deeper playmaking role in his latter years. He holds the club record for competitive appearances.

Giggs is also the most decorated player in English football history. He has won 12 Premier League winner's medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals and two Champions League winner's medals. He has two runner-up medals from the Champions League, three FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of the team five times when it finished second in the Premier League. In recent years, Giggs has captained the team on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007–08 season when regular captain Gary Neville was ruled out with various injuries.

Giggs has a number of personal achievements. He was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993), though he did not win the PFA Player of the Year award until 2009. He is the only player to have played and scored in every season of the Premier League and he also holds the longest run of successive scoring seasons in UEFA Champions League history (11). He has been elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the Premier League Team of the Decade, in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century.

At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country.

In addition to the many honours Giggs has received within football such as being named in the Football League 100 Legends (the last active player in the list), he was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005, for his services to English Football. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009. On 31 January 2011, Giggs was named Manchester United's greatest ever player by a worldwide poll conducted by United's official magazine and website. Sir Alex Ferguson presented him with the award.

Early years

Born as Ryan Joseph Wilson (he later adopted his mother's maiden name as his professional surname) at St David's Hospital in Canton, Cardiff, to Danny Wilson, at the time a rugby union player for Cardiff RFC who would go on to become a Wales international representative in rugby league, and Lynne Giggs (now Lynne Johnson). As a child Giggs grew up in Ely, a suburb of western Cardiff. His younger brother, Rhodri, manages non-league Salford City.

He spent much time with his mother's parents and playing football on the roads outside their house in Pentrebane. In 1980, when Giggs was six years old, his father switched rugby codes and signed for Swinton RLFC, forcing the whole family to move north to Swinton, a town in Salford, Greater Manchester. The move was a traumatic one, as Giggs was very close to his grandparents in Cardiff, but he would often return there with his family at weekends or on school holidays. Giggs is mixed race – his paternal grandfather is from Sierra Leone – and has spoken of the racism he faced as a child.

After moving to Salford, Giggs appeared for the local team, Deans FC, who were coached by Manchester City scout Dennis Schofield. His first game for Deans ended in a 9–0 defeat to Stretford Vics but, nevertheless, many people commented that Giggs had been the best player on the pitch that day. Schofield recommended Giggs to Manchester City, and he was signed up to their School of Excellence. Meanwhile, Giggs continued to play for Salford Boys, who went on to reach the final of the Granada Schools Cup competition at Anfield in 1987. Giggs captained the Salford team to victory over their Blackburn counterparts, and the trophy was presented to him by Liverpool chief scout Ron Yeats. Yeats was impressed by Giggs's performance, and would have recommended him to Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, had Giggs not already been picked up by Manchester United.

While playing for Deans, Giggs was observed regularly by local newsagent and Old Trafford steward Harold Wood who regularly recommended the young man to senior staff at Manchester United to no avail. Wood spoke personally to Alex Ferguson who sent a scout who was impressed enough for United to offer Giggs a trial over the 1986 Christmas period. Giggs played in a match for Salford Boys against a United Under-15s side at The Cliff and scored a hat trick, with Ferguson watching from his office window. On 29 November 1987 (his 14th birthday), Ferguson turned up at Giggs's house with United scout Joe Brown and offered him two years on associate schoolboy forms. They offered to waive YTS forms, and persuaded Giggs to sign by offering the opportunity to turn professional in three years. Using the name Ryan Wilson, Giggs captained England at schoolboy level, playing at Wembley Stadium against Germany in 1989. He changed his surname at the age of 16, when his mother remarried. His parents had separated two years earlier.

Manchester United first team

Debut and breakthrough season

Giggs was offered his first professional contract on 29 November 1990 (his 17th birthday), by which time he was described by various sources to be the finest prospect in English football since George Best in the 1960s. He accepted the contract and became a professional two days later (1 December 1990).

At this time, United had recently won the FA Cup – their first major trophy since the appointment of Alex Ferguson as manager in November 1986. After two precarious seasons in the league where they had finished mid table, they were finally starting to threaten the dominance of Liverpool and Arsenal, though they only managed to finish sixth that season. Ferguson's quest for a successful left winger had not been an easy one since the departure of Jesper Olsen two years earlier. First he had signed Ralph Milne, but the player was not a success at United and lasted just one season in the first team before Ferguson secured the Southampton winger Danny Wallace in September 1989. Wallace had failed to repeat the performances that had made him one of the highest rated flanksmen in his days on the South Coast, and by the time Giggs turned professional Wallace was battling with 19-year-old Lee Sharpe for the role of first choice left winger.

Giggs made his League debut against Everton at Old Trafford on 2 March 1991, as a substitute for the injured full-back Denis Irwin in a 2–0 defeat. In his first full start, Giggs was credited with his first ever goal in a 1–0 win in the Manchester derby on 4 May 1991, though it appeared to be a Colin Hendry own goal. However, he was not included in the squad of 16 that defeated Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final 11 days later. Lee Sharpe, who had now won the race to displace Danny Wallace as United's regular left winger, took to the field as United's left winger, while Wallace was selected as a substitute. He became a first-team regular early in the 1991–92 season, yet remained active with the youth system and captained the team, made up of many of "Fergie's Fledglings", to an FA Youth Cup triumph in 1992.

Giggs broke into the first team even though he was still aged only 17, a mark of his skill and maturity, and paved the way as the first of many Manchester United youth players to rise into the first team under Ferguson. As the youngest member of the United first team squad, Giggs looked to the older players such as Bryan Robson for advice. Robson recommended that Giggs sign up with Harry Swales, the agent that he himself had inherited from Kevin Keegan.

That season, Giggs played in the team that finished as runners-up to Leeds United in the final year of the old First Division before the advent of the Premier League. United had led the table for much of the season before a run of dismal results in April saw them overtaken by the West Yorkshire side. Giggs collected his first piece of silverware on 12 April 1992 as United defeated Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final, after Giggs had set up Brian McClair to score the only goal of the game. At the end of the season, he was voted PFA Young Player of the Year – the award which had been credited to his colleague Lee Sharpe a year earlier.

Early career

By the start of the 1992–93 season, the first season of the newly formed Premier League, Giggs was firmly established as United's first-choice left winger, and became known as one of British football's most prodigious young players, where Giggs was also hailed as the more prodigious half of English football's two best emerging young wingers, alongside Steve McManaman, who were notable for being a throwback to the Stanley Matthews era of the 1950s' wingers, and for their ability to "embarrass defences with their mazy runs, which too often lack the finishing touch they deserve". Giggs, as the leader of this new revival of pacy and stylish football after the traditional years of long ball and route one styles of previous decades, played a key role in reshaping English football, and helped United to its first top division title win for 26 years, though they didn't go top until after Christmas and fought off competition from big spending Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers as well as surprise title contenders Norwich City.

His emergence and the arrival of Eric Cantona heralded the dominance of United in the new league. His manager was very protective of him, refusing to allow Giggs to be interviewed until he turned 20, eventually granting the first interview to the BBC's Des Lynam for ''Match of the Day'' in the 1993–94 season. This was the season when United won the double and Giggs was one of their key players alongside the likes of Eric Cantona, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes. Lee Sharpe, the player Giggs had ousted on the left wing a couple of years earlier, was now vying with Andrei Kanchelskis for the right wing position – with both players having key parts in the club's success. They topped the table from the fourth game in late August and were not overtaken all season. Giggs also played for United in the Football League Cup final, where they lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, ending their hopes of a unique domestic treble.

Off the pitch, newspapers claimed Giggs had "single-handedly revolutionised football's image" when he appeared as teenager "with pace to burn, a bramble patch of black hair bouncing around his puppy popstar face, and a dazzling, gluey relationship between his impossibly fleet left foot and a football." As a result of this, he was afforded many opportunities not normally offered to footballers at his young age, such as hosting his own television show, ''Ryan Giggs' Soccer Skills'', which aired in 1994, and also had a book based on the series. Giggs was part of the Premier League's attempt to market itself globally, re-forging its image after the hooliganism-blighted years of the 1980s and he featured on countless football and lad mag covers, becoming a household name, and fuelling the era where footballers started to become celebrity idols on a par with pop stars, in and around the mid to late 1990s. Despite his aversion to attention, Giggs also became a teenage pin-up and was once described as the "Premiership's First Poster Boy", and the "boy wonder", arguably the original footballer who catapulted the term into the public lexicon. He was hailed as the first football star to capture the public imagination in a way unseen since the days of George Best; the irony was that Best and Bobby Charlton used to describe Giggs as their favourite young player, turning up at The Cliff training ground just to watch him, where Best once quipped, "One day they might even say that I was another Ryan Giggs."

At the end of the 1993–94 season, Giggs won a second title in a row, and became the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards, a feat that has not been bettered, and been equalled since only by Robbie Fowler and Wayne Rooney.

Giggs proved to be a great goalscorer, many of his memorable goals being shortlisted for various Goal of the Season awards. Widely regarded as among his best were those against Queens Park Rangers in 1993, Tottenham in 1994, Everton in 1995, Coventry in 1996, and the most remarkable of all, his solo-goal against Arsenal in the replay of the 1999 FA Cup semi-final. During extra time, Giggs picked up possession after Patrick Vieira gave the ball away, then ran from the half-way line, dribbled past the whole Arsenal back line, including Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown before launching his left-footed strike just under David Seaman's bar and beyond his reach. He famously whipped off his shirt as he ran to celebrate with his teammates. It also has the distinction of being the last ever goal scored in an FA Cup semi-final replay as, from the following season, the FA Cup semi-finals are decided in a single game, with extra time and a penalty shootout if required.

Mid-late 1990s

1994–95 saw Giggs restricted through injury to 29 Premier League games and only 1 goal, later in the season he recovered his form and fitness, though it was too late to help United to any major trophies. A failure to beat West Ham United on the final day of the season saw them lose the Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers. A week later, Giggs came on as a substitute in the FA Cup final against Everton, but United lost 1–0.

On a more positive side in the 1994–95 season, Giggs did get on the scoresheet twice in the opening Champions League game against IFK Gothenburg (a 4–2 win, although United ultimately failed to progress to the quarter-finals) and also managed a goal in the FA Cup fourth around victory over Wrexham, meaning that he had managed four in all competitions that season.

The 1995 close season brought more controversy as United sold Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis and began the following season without a major signing, though they had added Andy Cole to their ranks for a national record £7 million halfway through the previous season.

In 1995–96, Giggs returned to full form and played a vital part in United's unique second double, his goal against Everton at Goodison Park on 9 September 1995 being shortlisted for the "goal of the season" award, though it was eventually beaten by a goal by Manchester City's Georgi Kinkladze. In November that season, Giggs scored two goals in a Premier League match against Southampton, arguably his finest performance of the season, where United won 4–1 to keep up the pressure on a Newcastle United side who actually went 10 points clear on 23 December but were finally overhauled by United in mid March. Giggs was also in the side for United's FA Cup final win over Liverpool on 11 May 1996, though Eric Cantona scored the late winner – the only goal of the game. By now, Giggs had several new key colleagues in breakthrough youngsters Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. Beckham took over from Andrei Kanchelskis on the right wing and Butt succeeded Paul Ince in central midfield to complete a new look United midfield along with Giggs and Roy Keane.

The following season, Giggs had his first real chance to shine in Europe. Having played a key role in United winning their third league title in four seasons, he helped them reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, the first United side in 28 years to achieve this. However, their hopes of European glory were ended by Borussia Dortmund, who edged them out by winning each leg of the semi-final 1–0. At the end of this season, Juventus' Alessandro Del Piero told Italian media that Giggs was one of his two favourite players, and gave the following memorable quote:"This is embarrassing to say but I have cried twice in my life watching a football player; the first one was Roberto Baggio and the second was Ryan Giggs."

In 1997–98, United were pipped to the Premier League title by Arsenal, following a dismal run of form in March and early April, leaving them without a trophy for only the second time since 1989. The following season, Giggs missed a lot of games through injury, but when he was fit his form was consistently excellent and he played in both of United's cup finals that season. Memorable moments were his extra-time goal in the FA Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Arsenal to give United a 2–1 win, and his 90th minute equaliser in the home leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Juventus, a 1–1 draw which was followed two weeks later by a 3–2 win in Turin where United came from two goals behind.

The highpoint in the 1998–99 season was when Giggs set up the equalising goal scored by Teddy Sheringham in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final that set United on their way to the Treble. Striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the winning goal with the last kick of the game two minutes later. Giggs was also the Man of the Match as United beat Palmeiras 1–0 to claim the Intercontinental Cup later that year.

2000–2005

Giggs became United's longest serving player when Denis Irwin left in May 2002, and he became a pivotal part of the club, despite still being in his twenties. Giggs continued to excel in the four years that followed the Treble triumph of 1999. United were Premier League champions in three of the four seasons following the treble, as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals three times and the semi-finals once. He celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Old Trafford with a testimonial match against Celtic at the start of the 2001–02 campaign. However, this was one of the most disappointing seasons United had endured since Giggs made his debut for them, as a dismal run of form in early winter ultimately cost them the league title and they were surprisingly knocked out of the Champions League on away goals in the semi finals by German underdogs Bayer Leverkusen. A year later, in the autumn of 2002, he bagged his 100th career goal in a draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

He played in his fourth FA Cup triumph on 22 May 2004, making him one of only two players (the other being Roy Keane) to have won the trophy four times while playing for Manchester United. He has also finished with a runners-up medal three times (1995, 2005 and 2007). His participation in the victory over Liverpool in September 2004 made him the third player to play 600 games for United, alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game.

Since 2006

After that season, Giggs signed a two-year contract extension with United when chief executive David Gill relented on his normal policy of not signing players over 30 to contracts longer than one year. He has subsequently signed three further one-year contact extensions, to keep him at Old Trafford until at least June 2011, when he will be 37. Giggs benefited from being largely injury-free aside from a series of hamstring problems.

On 6 May 2007, with Chelsea only able to manage a 1–1 draw with London rivals Arsenal, Manchester United became the champions of England. In doing so, Giggs set a new record of nine league titles, beating the previous record of eight he shared with Alan Hansen and Phil Neal (who won all of their titles with Liverpool). Giggs played a starring role in United's 2007 Charity Shield victory after netting in the first half to bring the game to a 1–1 draw, which led to penalty triumph for the Red Devils after keeper Edwin van der Sar saved all of Chelsea's first three penalties.

In the 2007–08 season, Alex Ferguson adopted a rotation system between Giggs and newcomers Nani and Anderson. Nevertheless, Giggs remained the favoured choice for the anticipated clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford and put in a cross with the outside of his boot for Carlos Tévez to score his first United goal.

Giggs scored his 100th league goal for United against Derby County on 8 December 2007, which United won 4–1. More landmarks have been achieved: on 20 February 2008 he made his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League in a game against Lyon and on 11 May 2008 he came on as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for United. Giggs scored the second goal in that match, sealing his, and United's, tenth Premier League title. Ten days later, on 21 May 2008, Giggs broke Bobby Charlton's appearance record for United when coming on as an 87th minute substitute for Paul Scholes in the Champions League Final against Chelsea. United would go on to win the Final, defeating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra time. Giggs converted what became the winning penalty in sudden-death for United and joined Steve McManaman and team-mate Owen Hargreaves in becoming the only British players to have played in and won more than one Champions League final. (This is not true for European Cups as several Nottingham Forest players achieved this in 1979 and 1980 and several Liverpool players in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984.) Giggs lifted the Champions League trophy with Rio Ferdinand as captain Gary Neville had been out for nearly the entire season with an injury.

At the start of Manchester United's 2008–09 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson began placing Giggs at central midfield, behind the forwards, instead of his favoured wing position. Giggs has since adapted very well to his new position and supplied two assists in as many games, against Middlesbrough and Aalborg. Sir Alex Ferguson said in an interview, "(Giggs) is a very valuable player, he will be 35 this November but at 35, he can be United's key player. At 25, Ryan would shatter defenders with his run down the flank, but at 35, he will play deeper." Giggs has begun taking his coaching badges and Ferguson has hinted that he would like Giggs to serve as his coaching staff after retirement like Ole Gunnar Solskjær did.

On 8 February 2009, Giggs maintained his record of being the only player to score in every season of the Premier League since its inception in 1992 by netting the only goal in a 1–0 win over West Ham United. Following speculation earlier in the year, in February 2009, Giggs signed a one-year extension to his current contract – which was due to expire in June 2009. After a successful season, Giggs was short-listed along with four other Manchester United team mates for the PFA Player of the Year. On 26 April 2009, Giggs received the award, despite having started just twelve games throughout the 08/09 season (at the time of receiving the trophy). This was the first time in his career that Giggs had received the award. Prior to the awards ceremony, Alex Ferguson had given his backing for Giggs to win the award and stated that it would be fitting, given Giggs' long term contribution to the game. Giggs made his 800th appearance for Manchester United on 29 April 2009, in the 1–0 semi-final win over Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League. On 16 May 2009, Manchester United won the Premier League after a 0–0 draw against Arsenal, both United's and Giggs' 11th Premier League titles.

Giggs scored his first Manchester United hat-trick in a pre-season friendly against Hangzhou Greentown after coming on as a second-half substitute.

On 12 September 2009, Giggs scored United's first goal in a 3–1 Premier League win against Tottenham Hotspur, at White Hart Lane, maintaining his record of having scored in every Premier League season since its inception, the only player to have done so. This game also marked Giggs' 700th start for United. Giggs scored his 150th goal for United, only the ninth player to do so for the club, against Wolfsburg in his first Champions League game of the season. The goal, as well as his previous strike of the season against Spurs, was direct from a free-kick, albeit with a huge deflection. It also made it a record-equalling 14th Champions League season in which he had scored, drawing him level with Raúl who had achieved the feat 15 days earlier. He then set up Michael Carrick to score the winner to give United a 2–1 win against the Champions League newcomers. On 28 November 2009, the eve of his 36th birthday, Giggs scored his 100th Premier League goal – all for Manchester United – scoring the final goal in a 4–1 victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park. The goal along with his previous two strikes of the season was another free kick, stating his claim for regular set-piece taker since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, he also became only the 17th player to reach the milestone in the Premier League.

On 30 November 2009, the day after his 36th birthday, it was reported that Giggs would be offered an additional one-year contract which would run until the end of the 2010–11 season and see him past the 20th anniversary of his first game and first goal for United. On the same day, Giggs was nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009. On 5 December 2009, Giggs' appearance against West Ham United – a game that he ended playing at left-back – equalled countryman Gary Speed's outfield record of 535 Premier League games. On 12 December, Giggs surpassed Speed's feat by playing against Aston Villa. The following day, Giggs won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. On 18 December 2009, Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with United, keeping him at the club until June 2011, taking him past the 20th anniversary of his first professional contract and that of his first team debut – a rare occurrence of a player reaching the 20-year mark with the same club and with unbroken service. On 31 December 2009, Giggs was named the Manchester United Player of the Decade. On 24 April 2010, Giggs scored the first ever league penalties of his career in his 900th game, netting two penalties in a 3–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur, which was crucial as it sent United to the top of the Premier League after several weeks in second place behind Chelsea.

On 16 August 2010, Giggs kept up his record of scoring in every Premier League season since its inception as he netted United's third in their 3–0 home victory over Newcastle United in their opening fixture of the new campaign. As he found the net in the final two seasons of the old Football League First Division, he has now scored in 21 successive top division campaigns. His second goal of the season came against Birmingham City in a 5–0 victory against the Midland's side. On 17 January 2011, Giggs reached 600 league appearances (all for Manchester United), as he played in their goalless draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester United on 18 February, keeping him at the club until June 2012. On 6 March 2011, Giggs surpassed the Manchester United league appearance record of Bobby Charlton by playing his 607th game against Liverpool. On 26 April, against Schalke 04 in the Champions League Semi-Final First Leg, Giggs scored the first goal from a Wayne Rooney pass, also making himself the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history to date. United would go on to win the first leg 2–0.

In the 2011 Champions League final, where Manchester United was defeated 3–1 by Barcelona, Giggs made an assist to Rooney, which ended up being the only goal for the team.

International career

Born in Cardiff to Welsh parents, Giggs represented Wales at international level. As a youngster, Giggs captained England Schoolboys. Contrary to popular belief, he was never eligible for the full England team (eligibility at the schoolboy level depends solely upon the location of the school, in Giggs' case Moorside High School in Salford). He has stated that he would have chosen to play for Wales anyway. When he made his international debut in 1991, he broke the record as the youngest debutant for Wales and held it for some seven years when it was broken by Ryan Green in June 1998. He went on to win 64 caps, and scored twelve goals for the Welsh national team between 1991 and 2007. He was appointed captain of Wales in 2004. During a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on 12 October 2005, Giggs scored a rare double in a 2–0 win but Wales failed to reach the play-offs. In September 2006, he played in a friendly against Brazil at White Hart Lane. Such was his display that, following the 2–0 win for Brazil, Brazil coach Dunga paid Giggs the compliment by stating he would not look out of place playing for the five-time world champions alongside stars such as Kaká and Ronaldinho.

His first senior goal for Wales came on 31 March 1993 in a 3–0 win over Belgium in Cardiff in a World Cup qualifying game, the same game in which Ian Rush scored for Wales for a record 24th time.

Giggs received criticism for his reluctance to participate in friendly international matches. Since his debut in 1991 against Germany, Giggs did not attend a friendly international until some nine years later, when he then missed 18 consecutive friendly games. The official reason given for such absences was that Giggs was injured on each occasion. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had a policy of refusing to release the player for friendly games.

Giggs announced his retirement from international football on Wednesday, 30 May 2007, at a press conference held at The Vale of Glamorgan Hotel, drawing the curtain on a 16-year international career. He cited concentrating on his United career as the main reason for stepping down. His final game for Wales, and as captain, was the Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic on 2 June at Cardiff. He earned his 64th cap in this game and won the Man of the Match award as Wales drew 0–0. In November, he was one of three players in the final nomination by the FAW for the Wales Player of the Year award, which was ultimately won by Craig Bellamy.

In an interview with the ''Western Mail'' on 26 March 2010, Giggs hinted that he might be tempted to come out of international retirement for his country's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, in order to cover for the injured Aaron Ramsey. He later clarified his position to BBC Radio Manchester, saying that he would only return to Wales duty in an emergency.

International goals

Cardiff, Wales 8 September 1993 7 September 1994 2 June 1996 11 November 1997 4 September 1999 29 March 2000 29 March 2003 8 October 2005 rowspan="2" 21 May 2006 28 March 2007

# !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1	31 March 1993	|		2–0	Win	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)>1994 FIFA World Cup Qual.
2	|	Cardiff, Wales		2–2	Draw	1994 FIFA World Cup Qual.
3	|	Cardiff, Wales		2–0	Win	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying>UEFA Euro 1996 Qual.
4	|	Serravalle (San Marino)>Serravalle, San Marino		5–0	Win	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)>1998 FIFA World Cup Qual.
5	|	Brussels, Belgium		2–3	Loss	1998 FIFA World Cup Qual.
6	|	Minsk, Belarus		2–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying>UEFA Euro 2000 Qual.
7	|	Cardiff, Wales		1–2	Loss	Friendly match>Friendly
8	|	Cardiff, Wales		4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying>UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
9	|	Belfast, Northern Ireland		3–2	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)>2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
10	12 October 2005 ||	Cardiff, Wales		2–0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
11
12	|	Bilbao, Spain		1–0	Win	Non-FIFA football>Non-FIFA representative friendly
13	|	Cardiff, Wales		3–0	Win	2008 UEFA European Championship>UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.

Discipline

Giggs has never been sent off when playing for Manchester United and only once when playing for Wales, on 5 September 2001 in a World Cup qualifier against Norway; Giggs received a second yellow card in the 86th minute. In November 2003, he was found guilty of improper conduct by the FA due to his behaviour following the Battle of Old Trafford against Arsenal. In the same week, Giggs received a two-match suspension from international football for deliberately elbowing Russian player Vadim Evseev in the face during the first leg of the Euro 2004 play-offs. The offence was missed by referee Lucílio Batista, but Giggs was later charged using video evidence.

Career statistics

Club

1 4 9 13 1 11 3 8 3 6 5 7 8 7 5 3 4 3 2 5 2 0

Club	Season	League	FA Cup	!colspan="2"	!colspan="2"	Other	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
rowspan="22"	Manchester United		2	|	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
1991–92 Manchester United F.C. season	1991–92	38	|	7	0	8	3	1	0	1	0	51	7
1992–93 Manchester United F.C. season	1992–93	41	|	2	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	46	11
1993–94 Manchester United F.C. season	1993–94	38	|	7	1	8	3	4	0	1	0	58	17
1994–95 Manchester United F.C. season	1994–95	29	|	7	1	0	0	3	2	1	0	40	4
1995–96 Manchester United F.C. season	1995–96	33	|	7	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	44	12
1996–97 Manchester United F.C. season	1996–97	26	|	3	0	0	0	7	2	1	0	37	5
1997–98 Manchester United F.C. season	1997–98	29	|	2	0	0	0	5	1	1	0	37	9
1998–99 Manchester United F.C. season	1998–99	24	|	6	2	1	0	9	5	1	0	41	10
1999–2000 Manchester United F.C. season	1999–00	30	|	–		0	0	11	1	3	0	44	7
2000–01 Manchester United F.C. season	2000–01	31	|	2	0	0	0	11	2	1	0	45	7
2001–02 Manchester United F.C. season	2001–02	25	|	1	0	0	0	13	2	1	0	40	9
2002–03 Manchester United F.C. season	2002–03	36	|	3	2	5	0	15	4	0	0	59	14
2003–04 Manchester United F.C. season	2003–04	33	|	5	0	0	0	8	1	1	0	47	8
2004–05 Manchester United F.C. season	2004–05	32	|	4	0	1	1	6	2	1	0	44	8
2005–06 Manchester United F.C. season	2005–06	27	|	2	1	3	0	5	1	0	0	37	5
2006–07 Manchester United F.C. season	2006–07	30	|	6	0	0	0	8	2	0	0	44	6
2007–08 Manchester United F.C. season	2007–08	31	|	2	0	0	0	9	0	1	1	43	4
2008–09 Manchester United F.C. season	2008–09	28	|	2	0	4	1	11	1	2	0	47	4
2009–10 Manchester United F.C. season	2009–10	25	|	1	0	2	1	3	1	1	0	32	7
2010–11 Manchester United F.C. season	2010–11	25	|	3	1	1	0	8	1	1	0	38	4
2011–12 Manchester United F.C. season	2011–12	2	|	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Total	!615!!110!!68!!11!!37!!9!!140!!28!!18!!1!!878!!159

International

|- |1991||2||0 |- |1992||3||0 |- |1993||6||2 |- |1994||1||1 |- |1995||3||0 |- |1996||3||1 |- |1997||3||1 |- |1998||1||0 |- |1999||3||1 |- |2000||4||1 |- |2001||4||0 |- |2002||5||0 |- |2003||7||1 |- |2004||3||0 |- |2005||6||3 |- |2006||5||0 |- |2007||4||1 |- !Total||64||12 |}

Honours

Club

;Manchester United

Premier League (12): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11

FA Cup (4): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04

Football League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10

FA Community Shield (8): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010

UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08

UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991

Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999

FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

PFA Young Player of the Year (2): 1991–92, 1992–93

PFA Team of the Year (6): 1992–93, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2008–09

PFA Team of the Century (1): 1997–2007

Bravo Award: 1993

PFA Player of the Year (1): 2008–09

BBC Sports Personality of the Year (1): 2009

BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year (2): 1996, 2009

Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (1): 1997–98

Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year (2): 1990–91, 1991–92

Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02): Overall Team of the Decade

UEFA Champions League 10 Seasons Dream Team (1992 to 2002): 2002

Wales Player of the Year Award (2): 1996, 2006

Premier League Player of the Month (3): September 1993, August 2006, February 2007

Goal of the Season (1): 1998–99

English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2005

Orders and special awards

OBE for services to football: 2007 Honorary Master of Arts degree from Salford University for contributions to football and charity work in developing countries: 2008 Freedom of the City of Salford: 7 January 2010. He is the 22nd person to receive the Freedom of the City of Salford.

Records

Has won a record 12 top division English league titles as a player, and only Manchester United player to have winner's medals from all 12 Premier League title wins.

Most Premier League appearances for a player, with 574. Most Premier League assists (accurate records are only available from 2002 onwards). Only player to have scored in first 19 Premier League campaigns.

Only player to have scored in eleven consecutive Champions League tournaments (1996–97 to 2006–07) Raúl is the only who has scored in fourteen consecutive Champions League tournaments (1997–98 to 2010–11).

Only Manchester United player to have scored in fifteen different Champions League tournaments.

Most goals by a British player in the Champions League/European Cup proper history, and 14th overall (not including preliminary rounds).

Most appearances by a Manchester United player.

First player to score 100 Premier League goals for Manchester United.

Second midfielder to have scored 100 goals in the Premier League for a single club (first being Matt Le Tissier).

One of four Manchester United players to win two Champions League Medals (others are Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Wes Brown).

Oldest (37 years, 148 days) player to score in the Champions League, when he scored against Schalke 04 on 26 April 2011.

One of two Manchester United Players to win at least 10 Top division medals (the other one is Paul Scholes.)

Endorsements and public image

Giggs has been featured in adverts for Reebok, Sovil Titus, Citizen Watches, Givenchy, Fuji, Patek Phillipe, Quorn Burgers, ITV Digital and Celcom.

According to an article by BBC Sport: "In the early 1990s, Giggs was David Beckham before Beckham was even holding down a place in the United first team. If you put his face on the cover of a football magazine, it guaranteed you the biggest sales of the year. Why? Men would buy it to read about 'the new Best' and girls bought it because they wanted his face all over their bedroom walls. Giggs had the million-pound boot deal (Reebok), the lucrative sponsorship deals in the Far East (Fuji) and the celebrity girlfriends (Dani Behr, Davinia Taylor) at a time when Beckham was being sent on loan to Preston North End."

Giggs has said that he deliberately shunned the media fuss. "Nothing could have prepared me for the limelight I was thrust into at 17," said Giggs. "I was in newspapers, magazines, on TV, and everyone in the street knew me. It was strange for me and I dealt with it by trying not to create a fuss. I've just tried to keep it that way ever since." At the height of his celebrity, Giggs' relationships caused him to change his media approach. Giggs has spoken about this decided shift away from publicity —- a route he seemed destined to take as celebrity pin up —- as occurring sometime in the mid 1990s. "The high-profile relationship I had with the TV presenter Dani Behr was the turning point for me", said Giggs. "Before I knew it, we were being photographed outside my house and cameramen followed us everywhere. It was very uncomfortable. At that point I decided the celebrity lifestyle wasn't for me. Around that time I felt my commercial work was affecting my work, too. I thought 'no, football is my bread and butter. It has to, and always will, come first'", he told the ''Daily Mirror''.

Personal life

Family

Giggs married his longtime partner, Stacey Cooke, in a private ceremony on 7 September 2007. They have two children, both born in Salford: Liberty Beau (known as Libby, born 2003) and Zachary Joseph (known as Zach, born 2006), and live in Worsley, Salford, Greater Manchester.

Activism

In August 2006 Giggs became an Ambassador for UNICEF UK, in recognition for his work with Manchester United's 'United for UNICEF' partnership with the children's organisation. Giggs visited UNICEF projects in Thailand and told the BBC: "As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs... Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of children every year when they accidentally step on a landmine."

Post-playing career

In October 2010, Giggs said he would "probably finish [his] career here [Old Trafford]", and that he could not see himself "dropping down leagues and playing at a lesser level." He said he wanted to go into coaching, calling managing Manchester United or Wales, "the two ultimate jobs", and that he was halfway through his UEFA 'A' coaching licence.

Gagging order

In May 2011, it was reported in non-UK media sources that Giggs was the identity of ''CTB'' in ''CTB v News Group Newspapers'', a footballer who had obtained an anonymised gagging order in relation to an alleged extra-marital affair with model Imogen Thomas. Giggs took legal action against the social networking site Twitter after he was named by a user in a list of identities of individuals who had allegedly taken out so-called "super-injunctions". A blogger for ''Forbes'' magazine remarked that Giggs had "not heard of the Streisand effect", observing that mentions of his name had increased significantly after the case against Twitter had been reported.

On 22 May 2011, the ''Sunday Herald'', a Scottish newspaper, published a thinly disguised photograph of Giggs on its front page, with the word "CENSORED" covering his eyes. ''Sunday Herald'' editor Richard Walker stated that the London High Court ruling had no force in Scotland, unless copies of the paper were sold in England or Wales.

On 23 May 2011, the gagging order set off a political controversy, with Prime Minister David Cameron commenting that the law should be reviewed to "catch up with how people consume media today". On the same day, Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name Giggs as ''CTB''.

Notes

References

External links

Photos & statistics at www.sporting-heroes.net

Profile at ManUtd.com

The National Football Museum Hall of Fame

Profile at Premier League

Ryan Giggs profile, Chris Whyatt, ''BBC News'', 23 May 2011, stats

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Association football wingers Category:BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Category:BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year Category:British people of Sierra Leonean descent Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Cardiff Category:Premier League players Category:Sierra Leone Creole people Category:The Football League players Category:Wales international footballers Category:Wales youth international footballers Category:Wales under-21 international footballers Category:Welsh footballers Category:Welsh people of Black African descent Category:People educated at Moorside High School

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name	Ryan Reynolds
birth name	Ryan Rodney Reynolds
birth date	October 23, 1976
birth place	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1990–present
spouse	}}

Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles in ''National Lampoon's Van Wilder'', ''Waiting...'', ''The Amityville Horror'', ''Just Friends'', ''Definitely, Maybe'', ''The Proposal'' and ''Buried'', as well as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''. His television roles include Michael "Berg" Bergen on ''Two Guys and a Girl''. Reynolds also starred in the DC superhero film ''Green Lantern'' alongside Blake Lively and Mark Strong.

Early life

Reynolds was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His father, Jim, is a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer who later became a food wholesaler, and his mother, Tammy, is a retail salesperson. He is of Irish ancestry and was raised Roman Catholic. The youngest of four brothers, he graduated from Kitsilano Secondary School in Vancouver in 1994. He then attended Kwantlen College, also in Vancouver, until dropping out.

Career

Reynolds' career began in 1990 when he starred as Billy the botsman in the Canadian-produced teen soap ''Hillside'', distributed in the United States by Nickelodeon as ''Fifteen''. As an adult, Reynolds starred in the National Lampoon movie ''Van Wilder'' and the American television series ''Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place'', playing medical student Michael "Berg" Bergen. In 1993 and 1994 he had a recurring role in ''The Odyssey'' as Macro. He also cameoed in ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' as a nurse, appeared in ''The In-Laws'' with Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks, as well as the Canadian production ''Foolproof''. In 2005 he played a waiter named Monty in ''Waiting...'', and as music executive Chris Brander in the romantic comedy ''Just Friends'' alongside Amy Smart and Anna Faris. Reynolds played the protagonist in the 2008 film ''Definitely, Maybe''. He has also appeared in the second season finale of the television series ''Scrubs'', where he played Spence, a college friend of J.D. and Turk. In 2007, Reynolds guest-starred as Brendan's friend Hams in the episode "Douchebag in the City" of the TBS sitcom ''My Boys''. In 2009, he portrayed Andrew Paxton, starring opposite Sandra Bullock, in the romantic comedy ''The Proposal'', and park's repairs technician Mike Connell in ''Adventureland''.

Although he has performed primarily in comedies, Reynolds underwent intense physical training to play an action role as the character of Hannibal King in the 2004 film ''Blade: Trinity'', which also starred Wesley Snipes and Jessica Biel. Reynolds played the dark character George Lutz in the 2005 remake of the 1979 horror film ''The Amityville Horror''. He also played an FBI agent alongside Ray Liotta in the 2006 crime action film ''Smokin' Aces''. In a March 2005 interview, Reynolds spoke of his interest and involvement in a possible film adaptation of ''Deadpool'' with screenwriter David S. Goyer, as well as the possibility of playing the incarnation of The Flash known as Wally West in an adaption of the popular DC Comics character in the upcoming movie project. Reynolds portrayed Deadpool in the X-Men spinoff ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' and was announced to portray him again in a spin-off, ''Deadpool''. Reynolds portrayed superhero Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in Warner Bros.' film ''Green Lantern'', released June 17, 2011 in 3D; this made him one of the few actors to headline in movies based on both Marvel and DC characters.

Reynolds starred also in the Spanish/Australian thriller ''Buried'', which screened at the Sundance film festival.

He is scheduled to portray Nick Cruz in the Universal Pictures film adaptation of the Dark Horse Comics ''Rest in Peace Department'', which is planned for 2011.

Personal life

In 2002 Reynolds began dating Canadian singer Alanis Morissette. The two announced their engagement in June 2004. In February 2007, representatives for Morissette and Reynolds announced that they had mutually decided to end their engagement. Morissette's album ''Flavors of Entanglement'' was created out of her grief after the breakup.

Soon after the end of his relationship with Morissette in 2007, Reynolds began dating actress Scarlett Johansson, and the couple announced their engagement on May 5, 2008. They married on September 27, 2008, in a quiet ceremony near Tofino, British Columbia. On December 14, 2010, Reynolds and Johansson announced that they had separated. On December 23, Reynolds filed for divorce and Johansson filed her response simultaneously in Los Angeles; the divorce was finalized on July 1, 2011.

In October 2008 Reynolds wrote for ''The Huffington Post'' regarding his plan to run the New York City Marathon for his father, who suffers from Parkinson's disease.

Reynolds appeared in ''People'''s Sexiest Man Alive lists in 2008 and 2009, and was awarded the top honor in 2010. In April 2011, he was ranked #15 on ''People'''s Most Beautiful 2011 list.

Filmography

+Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1993	''Ordinary Magic''	Ganesh/Jeffrey
1994	''My Name Is Kate''	Kevin Bannister	TV Film
1995	''Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story''	Andy	TV Film
1996	''When Friendship Kills''	Ben Colson	TV Film
1996		Seth	TV Film
1996		Bobby Rupp	TV Film
1997	''''	Howard Ancona
1998	''Tourist Trap''	Wade Early	TV Film
1999		Henry Lipschitz
1999		Chip
2000	''Boltneck (Big Monster On Campus)''	Carl
2001		Quigley
2002	''National Lampoon's Van Wilder''	Van Wilder
2002	''Buying the Cow''	Mike Hanson	''Direct-to-Video''
2003	''''	Mark Tobias
2003	''Foolproof''	Kevin
2004	''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle''	Male nurse	Cameo
2004	''Blade: Trinity''	Hannibal King
2005	''School of Life''	Michael "Mr. D" D'Angelo	TV Film
2005	''''	George Lutz
2005		Monty
2005	''Just Friends''	Chris Brander
2006	''Smokin' Aces''	Richard Messner
2007	''''	Gary/Gavin/Gabriel
2007		Frank Allen
2008	''Definitely, Maybe''	Will Hayes
2008	''Fireflies in the Garden''	Michael Taylor
2009		Mike Connell
2009	''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''		Shared role with Scott Adkins
2009	''''	Andrew Paxton
2009		Captain Excellent
2010		Narrator
2010		Paul Conroy
2011
2011	''The Change-Up''	Mitch
2011		Narrator	Post-production
2012		Matt Weston	Filming

+Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1991–1993		Billy Simpson	Also known as ''Hillside''. 65 Episodes
1993–1994	''''	Macro	Recurring role, 14 episodes
1995	''''	Derek Tillman
1995	''[[Lonesome Dove">List of The Outer Limits episodes#Season 1 (1995)
1995	''''	Rick	Season 2, Episode 3: "The Heartbreak Kid"
1995	''[[Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years''	Griffin	Season 1, Episode 9: "Redemption"
1996	''''	Jay "Boom" DeBoom
1997	''''	Paul Nodel	[[List of The Outer Limits episodes#Season 3 (1997)
1998	''''	Paul Nodel	[[List of The Outer Limits episodes#Season 4 (1998)
1998–2001	''[[Two Guys and a Girl">The X-Files (season 3)
1996	''''	Tony Hemingway	Season 4, episode 7: "Napping to Success"
1997	''''	Paul Nodel	[[List of The Outer Limits episodes#Season 3 (1997)
1998	''''	Paul Nodel	[[List of The Outer Limits episodes#Season 4 (1998)
1998–2001	''[[Two Guys and a Girl''		Main role, 81 episodes
2003		Spence
2004–2005	''Zeroman''	Ty Cheese	Recurring role, 14 Episodes
2007	''My Boys''	Hams
2009	''Saturday Night Live	Host

Awards and nominations

On June 28, 2011, it was announced that Reynolds will receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame and will be inducted on October 1 at Elgin Theatre in Toronto.

Goya Awards Nominated – "Best Actor" – ''Buried'' (2010)

MTV Movie Awards

Nominated – "Best Comedic Performance" – ''The Proposal'' (2010)

Nominated – "Best Fight" – ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' – Shared with Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber (2010)

Nominated – "Best Kiss" – ''The Proposal'' – Shared with Sandra Bullock (2010)

Nominated – "Best Scared-As-S**t Performance" – ''Buried'' (2011)

People's Choice Awards

Nominated – "Favorite Movie Actor" (2009)

Nominated – "Favorite Comedic Star" (2009)

Nominated – "Favorite On-Screen Team" – Shared with Daniel Henney, Dominic Monaghan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, Will.I.Am (2009)

Nominated – "Favorite On-Screen Team" – Shared with Sandra Bullock (2009)

Saturn Awards

Nominated – "Best Actor" – ''Buried'' (2010)

Scream Awards

Won – "Best Supporting Actor" – ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009)

Nominated – "Breakthrough Male Performance" – ''National Lampoon's Van Wilder'' (2003)

Young Hollywood Awards

Won – ''Next Generation – Male'' (2003)

Young Artist Award

Nominated – "Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Cable Series" – ''Fifteen'' (1993)

Teen Choice Awards

Nominated - "Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/fantasy - ''The Green Lantern''

References

External links

Ryan Reynolds' writings on HuffPost

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian child actors Category:Canadian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian voice actors Category:People from Vancouver

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