Why Winona Ryder is 'really glad' 'Little Women' was remade

"I'm very nostalgic about it, personally," she said.

January 31, 2020, 4:11 AM

It's been 25 years since Winona Ryder starred in the last iteration of "Little Women," but the actress considers the story timeless.

Although she admits she hasn’t seen the new Academy Award-nominated remake, she told "Good Morning America" she's "glad" it was done.

Greta Gerwig directed the newest film, while Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh star as Jo and Amy March, respectively.

"I'm very nostalgic about it, personally, because it's one of my more, I think, more personal favorites," she said of the film.

Ryder earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Jo March in the 1994 version.

Winona Ryder appears in the 1994 film, "Little Women."
Moviestore Collection/Shutterstock

"As generations grow up, it's nice to have a new one. I'm happy that girls get to have those roles," she continued. "Over the years, if you look at film history and the history of literature, oftentimes, you're either [portrayed as] a little girl or a woman, but they skip over those painful teenage years. So I thought that was a very special book that it examines that like no other had. I really think that's why it's so important."

Ryder, 48, spoke to "GMA" because of her partnership with Squarespace, for which she recently shot a special Super Bowl advertisement. For the spot, the actress revisited her namesake town of Winona, Minnesota. Ryder explained her parents were passing through the town when she was suddenly born, nowhere near a hospital.

"I just thought, 'You know, what a great thing to showcase a place like Winona with such a huge platform,' and it doesn't get bigger than the Super Bow, I've been told," she said. "It was amazing because I actually had not been there."

This is just the first fans will see of Ryder this year, however. The actress told "GMA" that she just finished shooting an adaption of Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America" for HBO, which will premiere in March. The book, which came out in 2004, is historical fiction in which a Jewish family's lives are changed as Charles Lindbergh is elected president.

"It's one of my favorite books ... and is incredibly relevant today," she said. "I'm really looking forward to that."