Winona Ryder refuses to be an actress.
Beetlejuice . The plot revolves around a recently deceased young couple ( Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis ) who become ghosts haunting their former home , and an obnoxious , devious ghost named Betelgeuse ( pronounced `` Beetlejuice '' , portrayed by Michael Keaton ) from the Netherworld who tries to scare away the new inhabitants ( Catherine O'Hara , Jeffrey Jones , and Winona Ryder ) permanently . Winona Ryder ( born Winona Laura Horowitz ; October 29 , 1971 ) is an American actress . One of the most profitable and iconic actresses of the 1990s , she made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas . She later appeared in the coming of age drama Mermaids ( 1990 ) , earning a Golden Globe nomination , and in the same year appeared alongside Johnny Depp in Burton 's dark fairy-tale Edward Scissorhands ( 1990 ) , and shortly thereafter with Keanu Reeves in Francis Ford Coppola 's gothic romance Bram Stoker 's Dracula ( 1992 ) .