Terry "Tuff" Ryan (July 14, 1946 – May 16, 2007) was an American writer, originally from Defiance, Ohio, who resided in San Francisco for most of her adult life. She was best known for her memoir ''The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio'', published in 2001, and released as a film, with the same title, in 2005. She was born to Leo (nicknamed Kelly) and Evelyn Ryan, and was the sixth of ten children. ''The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio'' was a memoir of her life and that of her family, especially her mother, a 1950s housewife with 10 children who provided for the family by winning contests.Ryan, Terry (2001). ''The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How my mother raised 100 kids on 250 words or less''. Simon & Schuster Inc. The book was optioned by DreamWorks SKG and released as a theatrical film in November 2005. It starred Julianne Moore as Evelyn Ryan and Woody Harrelson as Kelly Ryan. Jane Anderson was director and screenwriter. Terry Ryan was a consultant on the film. With artist Sylvia Mollick, Ryan was also the co-creator of the long-running cartoon '' T. O. Sylvester'' in the '' San Francisco Chronicle''. She was married to her long-time partner, Pat Holt, by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom on St Valentine's Day 2004. Her account of her wedding, titled ''We Do!'', was published by

Chronicle Books Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children. The company was established in 1967 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. ...

. She graduated from Bowling Green State University. In 2004, after the movie '' The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio'' was filmed, Terry discovered that she had Stage IV lung cancer that had metastasized to her brain. On May 16, 2007, Terry died of cancer at her San Francisco, California home.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Terry 1946 births 2007 deaths American women cartoonists Bowling Green State University alumni American LGBT writers LGBT people from Ohio LGBT people from California People from Defiance, Ohio Writers from San Francisco Female comics writers Deaths from lung cancer in California 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American women writers American women biographers American cartoonists 20th-century American LGBT people 21st-century American women