Caitlin Ryan
Encyclopedia
Caitlin Ryan is a fictional character
from the Degrassi series portrayed by Stacie Mistysyn
. Caitlin is a main character on both Degrassi Junior High
and Degrassi High
, which chronicle her maturation from a seventh grader to a high school graduate. Mistysyn returned to play an adult Caitlin on Degrassi: The Next Generation
, in which Caitlin is a recurring character.
Caitlin became the favorite Degrassi character of American screenwriter and film director Kevin Smith
, who named the character "Caitlin Bree" from his 1994 movie Clerks
after her. Smith's enthusiasm led the series's producers to create a three-episode story arc for him on Degrassi: The Next Generation, in which Smith develops a relationship with Caitlin. Mistysyn has earned three Gemini nominations for her portrayal of Caitlin, "including a win for best performance by a lead actress in a continuing dramatic role."
father and a vice principal mother on March 2, 1972. It is mentioned in the series that she has a brother named Patrick, but he is never seen on the show. Caitlin is an epileptic
and suffers seizures when she does not take her medication.
Caitlin is a strong student and an opinionated, passionate, and outspoken social activist on issues such as the environment
, animal rights
, and feminism
in addition to local issues, such as teacher firings. She often expresses her views through Degrassi Junior High's newspaper, which she joins in grade seven and is appointed editor of in grade eight. Her best friend throughout junior high is Susie Rivera, and her best friend in high school is paraplegic Maya Goldberg. Caitlin once struggled with her sexual identity, unsure about whether or not she was a lesbian
because of the feelings and dreams she had towards Ms. Avery, one of her teachers. Ms. Avery helps Caitlin sort through her feelings and realize that just because she had feelings towards Ms. Avery did not necessarily mean she was gay.
In grade seven, Caitlin develops an infatuation with Rick Munro. The following season, she gradually begins a relationship with Joey Jeremiah
. Caitlin breaks up with Joey after entering high school and meeting Claude Tanner; Claude's intellect and interest in social activism is in stark contrast to Joey's immature attitude and apathy for social issues. Her relationship with Claude ends when a security guard spots them spray painting a nuclear plant; Caitlin's jacket catches on the chain link fence
, and Claude flees instead of helping her. Caitlin is sentenced to several hours of community service for her crime. At home, Caitlin's family is emotionally crippled when her father's infidelity is exposed.
After Claude commits suicide
the following year, Caitlin and Joey eventually reconcile and resume dating. Joey proposes to Caitlin the next year, but Caitlin declines, citing the uncertainty of her future. That summer, Caitlin loses her virginity to Joey and eventually accepts his engagement proposal. Their engagement, however, only lasts about ten minutes due to her discovery of his infidelity. Caitlin continues her life after high school without Joey by enrolling into Carleton University
to study journalism.
area and is engaged to a Hollywood producer named Keith. However, Caitlin ends the relationship when she learns about Keith's doubts about going through with marriage. Caitlin later confides with Joey that her rushing into marriage was a product of her relationship insecurities.
In Season 3, Caitlin moves back to Toronto
after her U.S. television program ends. She gets a job working at a local television station CQJH on the show Local Heroes as a journalist. She finds Joey in a relationship with a woman named Sidney and soon becomes jealous. Sidney, meanwhile, grows distrustful of Joey's friendship with Caitlin and later asks him whom he loved. Joey and Sidney break up and Caitlin and Joey end up kissing that same night. Later that year Caitlin is informed that there is interest in a piece she had done on HIV
/AIDS
a year previously. After some emotional talks with Joey, she decides to leave for a trip around the world for nine months to do her piece.
Caitlin returns in Season 4 to learn that Joey's car dealership has been doing poorly and his house has been put up for sale by Sidney. Caitlin makes a deal with Sidney, giving closure to their hostility, and buys the house for Joey. This causes a feud between Joey and Caitlin, but the matter is set aside when they learn that there has been a school shooting at Degrassi. Later that year, Caitlin meets with Kevin Smith
to interview him about his new movie Jay and Silent Bob
Go Canadian, Eh? Kevin chooses Degrassi as the set for the movie and things heat up between him and Caitlin on set. Later, Caitlin's boss argues with Caitlin over her skills as a journalist and takes her off the Kevin Smith story. Caitlin, feeling a lack of freedom, quits her job on Local Heroes and ends up at a bar with Kevin Smith where she, while drunk, makes out with him. She heads back to Joey's house, still drunk, and proposes to Joey. Joey accepts, and the wedding plans are on. Caitlin then, surprisingly, gets an offer to revive her show Ryan's Planet, courtesy of Kevin Smith. Caitlin reveals to Kevin she is engaged to Joey, and an argument emerges. Facing a tough decision, she takes it out on Joey and they decide not to get married after agreeing that all they do is fight. Caitlin takes Kevin up on his offer and leaves with him to Los Angeles
after a tearful goodbye.
Caitlin appears in only one episode in season five despite being credited as a season regular. In the episode, Emma
arranges for Caitlin to visit her mother, Spike, and console her after Spike's husband kisses the school principal. She again returns to Toronto during the seventh season episode "Jesse's Girl", where she inadvertently hooks up with Ellie's boyfriend Jesse, leading Ellie to realize that Jesse is not the man that she is meant to be with and Caitlin once again helps Ellie through this.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Degrassi series portrayed by Stacie Mistysyn
Stacie Mistysyn
Stacie Mo'ana Mistysyn is an American-born Canadian actress best known for her work as Caitlin Ryan on Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High, which ran from 1987 to 1991, and for reprising her role as Caitlin on Degrassi: The Next Generation, which has been on the air since 2001 and which she joined...
. Caitlin is a main character on both Degrassi Junior High
Degrassi Junior High
Degrassi Junior High is a Canadian CBC Television teen drama series that was produced from 1987-1989 as part of the Degrassi series. The show followed the lives of a group of students attending the titular fictional school...
and Degrassi High
Degrassi High
Degrassi High is the third television show in the Degrassi series of teen dramas about the lives of a group of kids living on or near De Grassi Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It first aired from 1989 to 1991 and followed the kids from Kids of Degrassi Street and Degrassi Junior High through...
, which chronicle her maturation from a seventh grader to a high school graduate. Mistysyn returned to play an adult Caitlin on Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
, in which Caitlin is a recurring character.
Development
Mistysyn was taking dance lessons when she received a flyer advertising auditions for the series. Unaware of what to wear to the audition, Mistysyn auditioned in shorts and a tank top; she believed that this helped her in the process because the producers "were looking for kids just being kids". When Mistysyn failed to land the role she was auditioning for, writer Yan Moore created Caitlin specifically for the actress. The character was initially named Amanda, but was renamed "Caitlin" after someone in show publicist Kathryn Ellis's family.Caitlin became the favorite Degrassi character of American screenwriter and film director Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
, who named the character "Caitlin Bree" from his 1994 movie Clerks
Clerks
Clerks is a 1994 independent comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob. Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances...
after her. Smith's enthusiasm led the series's producers to create a three-episode story arc for him on Degrassi: The Next Generation, in which Smith develops a relationship with Caitlin. Mistysyn has earned three Gemini nominations for her portrayal of Caitlin, "including a win for best performance by a lead actress in a continuing dramatic role."
Youth
Caitlin was born to a teacherTeacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
father and a vice principal mother on March 2, 1972. It is mentioned in the series that she has a brother named Patrick, but he is never seen on the show. Caitlin is an epileptic
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
and suffers seizures when she does not take her medication.
Caitlin is a strong student and an opinionated, passionate, and outspoken social activist on issues such as the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
, and feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
in addition to local issues, such as teacher firings. She often expresses her views through Degrassi Junior High's newspaper, which she joins in grade seven and is appointed editor of in grade eight. Her best friend throughout junior high is Susie Rivera, and her best friend in high school is paraplegic Maya Goldberg. Caitlin once struggled with her sexual identity, unsure about whether or not she was a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
because of the feelings and dreams she had towards Ms. Avery, one of her teachers. Ms. Avery helps Caitlin sort through her feelings and realize that just because she had feelings towards Ms. Avery did not necessarily mean she was gay.
In grade seven, Caitlin develops an infatuation with Rick Munro. The following season, she gradually begins a relationship with Joey Jeremiah
Joey Jeremiah
Joseph "Joey" Jeremiah is a fictional character from the Degrassi series portrayed by Pat Mastroianni. His first appearance in the series was as a grade 8 student on Degrassi Junior High. Since his first appearance up to Degrassi High, he has been the main focus character and arguably the most...
. Caitlin breaks up with Joey after entering high school and meeting Claude Tanner; Claude's intellect and interest in social activism is in stark contrast to Joey's immature attitude and apathy for social issues. Her relationship with Claude ends when a security guard spots them spray painting a nuclear plant; Caitlin's jacket catches on the chain link fence
Chain link fencing
A chain-link fence is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized or LLDPE-coated steel wire...
, and Claude flees instead of helping her. Caitlin is sentenced to several hours of community service for her crime. At home, Caitlin's family is emotionally crippled when her father's infidelity is exposed.
After Claude commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
the following year, Caitlin and Joey eventually reconcile and resume dating. Joey proposes to Caitlin the next year, but Caitlin declines, citing the uncertainty of her future. That summer, Caitlin loses her virginity to Joey and eventually accepts his engagement proposal. Their engagement, however, only lasts about ten minutes due to her discovery of his infidelity. Caitlin continues her life after high school without Joey by enrolling into Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
to study journalism.
Adulthood
As an adult, Caitlin is a recurring character on Degrassi: The Next Generation. She hosts an environmental television program called Ryan's Planet. As a grown-up, she has also developed a propensity to be klutzy at times; however, she has been seizure-free long enough to have a driver's license and her having had epilepsy is not mentioned. In the series premiere of Degrassi: The Next Generation, Caitlin lives in the Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area and is engaged to a Hollywood producer named Keith. However, Caitlin ends the relationship when she learns about Keith's doubts about going through with marriage. Caitlin later confides with Joey that her rushing into marriage was a product of her relationship insecurities.
In Season 3, Caitlin moves back to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
after her U.S. television program ends. She gets a job working at a local television station CQJH on the show Local Heroes as a journalist. She finds Joey in a relationship with a woman named Sidney and soon becomes jealous. Sidney, meanwhile, grows distrustful of Joey's friendship with Caitlin and later asks him whom he loved. Joey and Sidney break up and Caitlin and Joey end up kissing that same night. Later that year Caitlin is informed that there is interest in a piece she had done on HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
a year previously. After some emotional talks with Joey, she decides to leave for a trip around the world for nine months to do her piece.
Caitlin returns in Season 4 to learn that Joey's car dealership has been doing poorly and his house has been put up for sale by Sidney. Caitlin makes a deal with Sidney, giving closure to their hostility, and buys the house for Joey. This causes a feud between Joey and Caitlin, but the matter is set aside when they learn that there has been a school shooting at Degrassi. Later that year, Caitlin meets with Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
to interview him about his new movie Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most films, comics and television by Smith, which began in Clerks....
Go Canadian, Eh? Kevin chooses Degrassi as the set for the movie and things heat up between him and Caitlin on set. Later, Caitlin's boss argues with Caitlin over her skills as a journalist and takes her off the Kevin Smith story. Caitlin, feeling a lack of freedom, quits her job on Local Heroes and ends up at a bar with Kevin Smith where she, while drunk, makes out with him. She heads back to Joey's house, still drunk, and proposes to Joey. Joey accepts, and the wedding plans are on. Caitlin then, surprisingly, gets an offer to revive her show Ryan's Planet, courtesy of Kevin Smith. Caitlin reveals to Kevin she is engaged to Joey, and an argument emerges. Facing a tough decision, she takes it out on Joey and they decide not to get married after agreeing that all they do is fight. Caitlin takes Kevin up on his offer and leaves with him to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
after a tearful goodbye.
Caitlin appears in only one episode in season five despite being credited as a season regular. In the episode, Emma
Emma Nelson
Emma Nelson is a fictional student on the Degrassi: The Next Generation television series, having originated in the series' precursor, Degrassi Junior High. She is portrayed as an adolescent and adult by Miriam McDonald....
arranges for Caitlin to visit her mother, Spike, and console her after Spike's husband kisses the school principal. She again returns to Toronto during the seventh season episode "Jesse's Girl", where she inadvertently hooks up with Ellie's boyfriend Jesse, leading Ellie to realize that Jesse is not the man that she is meant to be with and Caitlin once again helps Ellie through this.