Joyce Byers

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Winona Ryder joined the cast of Stranger Things as Joyce Byers in June 2015. Ryder's sole condition to play the role to The Duffer Brothers was that, if a sequel to the film Beetlejuice (1988) ever materialized due to her and Tim Burton having been discussing such project since 2000, they had to let her take a break to shoot it; the Duffers agreed and ultimately Ryder was able to shoot Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) with no difficulty. Joyce is fashioned after Richard Dreyfuss' character, Roy Neary, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). She is portrayed to appear insane to other characters as she searches for her missing son Will, whom everyone believes to be dead. In December 2017, it was revealed Ryder would be reprising her role for the third season, after the successes of the first and second seasons. She also received a pay raise in that same season. Ryder continued to play Joyce until the fifth and final season.

In Their Own Story

In November 1983, Joyce's son Will goes missing. She immediately alerts Hawkins Chief of Police Jim Hopper, who initially dismisses her concerns. Joyce begins to sense Will's presence in the Byers' home, receiving mysterious phone calls where she hears Will's breathing, but the calls end with the family's home phone exploding. She sees faded visions of Will through the wall and believes he is communicating by blinking the lights around the house. When Will's body is found in a lake, Joyce doubts it is really Will. In 1984, Joyce is dating Bob Newby. She is overprotective of Will, who has episodes where he experiences realistic visions of the Upside Down. Joyce and Hopper figure out that Will's drawings form a map of interconnecting tunnels under Hawkins. Bob is devoured by a Demodog while reactivating power at Hawkins Lab. In July 1985, Joyce notices magnets on her fridge fail to magnetize. She and Hopper investigate, discovering a Russian machine affecting the magnetic field. They kidnap Russian scientist Alexei and learn the Russians opened a portal to the Upside Down. Joyce turns a key to destroy the machine, which appears to disintegrate everyone in the room, leading her to believe Hopper is dead. By March 1986, Joyce lives in Lenora, California. She receives a Russian doll containing a note that Hopper is alive. She and Murray fly to Alaska, are double-crossed by Yuri, crash-land, and enter the gulag where Hopper is imprisoned. They help Hopper and Enzo escape after seeing prisoners pitted against a Demogorgon.

Reader's Guide

Joyce Byers is a determined, resourceful, and deeply emotional person, willing to go to great lengths to find her son, even if it means confronting supernatural forces. Throughout the series, she is depicted as protective of her family and persistent in confronting supernatural threats. She works with Jim Hopper, sharing information and sneaking into Hawkins Lab. She uses Christmas lights to communicate with Will. She burns the shadow monster out of Will in season 2. In season 3, she investigates the failing magnets with Hopper, kidnaps Alexei, and destroys the Russian machine. In season 4, she travels to Alaska and Kamchatka to rescue Hopper.

Did You Know?

• Winona Ryder joined the cast of Stranger Things as Joyce Byers in June 2015.
• Ryder's sole condition to play Joyce was that she be allowed to take a break to shoot a Beetlejuice sequel if it materialized; the Duffers agreed.
• Joyce is fashioned after Richard Dreyfuss' character, Roy Neary, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
• In December 2017, it was revealed Ryder would reprise her role for the third season, and she received a pay raise.
• Ryder continued to play Joyce until the fifth and final season.