CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons/David Shankbone

A lot of people have been wondering what has happened to Meg Ryan. People magazine chooses the actress to cover its October 2013 issue, with a story called, "Inside Her New Life."

For several years Ryan was considered the romantic comedy or rom-com queen. With a string of box-office hits under her belt, including "When Harry Met Sally," "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle," America loved her, earning her the title of "America's Sweetheart."

Then, she quietly slipped out of the blinding klieg lights of show business and traded her life as a movie star in favor of a private life in New York with her boyfriend, rocker John Mellencamp and her 8-year-old daughter, Daisy.

Living in New York "makes you different," said writer and good friend Delia Ephron.

"Los Angeles is just about movies. New York is about so much more than that, and so is Meg."

Ephron, is the sister of the late Nora Ephron, who directed Ryan in "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail."

Before dating Mellencamp, the actress was married to Dennis Quaid for nearly 10 years. In 2000, it was revealed that both parties have been unfaithful to each other, causing their marriage to dissolve.

The "Proof of Life" star confessed to Instyle Magazine in 2008 that her affair with costar Russell Crowe turned her into a "scarlet woman."

"My time as a scarlet woman was really interesting. As painful as it was, it was also incredible liberating. Now I was utterly free. I didn't have to care about what people thought," she said to the fashion mag.

"I have gotten to do what I guess I secretly wanted to do. Be totally under the radar and live my life."

Ryan, 51, is currently living in downtown Manhattan, New York City where she tries her best to avoid paparazzi and being recognized in the streets. She's still acting, and can be seen on the 2013 web series "Web Therapy," as Karen Sharpe.

Ryan also appeared in the 2009 film "Serious Moonlight" as Louise. She was also seen in the television series "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Her other film credits include "In the Land of Women," with Kristen Stewart, "Kate & Leopold," with Hugh Jackman and "City of Angels," with Nicolas Cage.