Ryder 'in good health' after flight illness

American actress Winona Ryder left hospital “in good health” today after being treated for an illness which developed on a flight to London, her publicist said.

A spokesman for Hillingdon Hospital in, west London, said the 37-year-old was treated by medics directly off the plane at Heathrow and taken to hospital.

Her publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said tonight: “She did fall ill on a plane and as a precautionary measure they took her to a hospital. She has already been released from hospital.

“She was there for an hour. She’s in good health. There’s no drama.”

A spokesman for British Airways said: “The captain of BA282, which was travelling from LA to Heathrow, requested a priority landing as a female passenger required medical attention.

“The passenger was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The plane touched down shortly before noon UK time.”

BA said their crew looked after her as much as they could on board, and staff accompanied her to hospital.

Ryder was travelling on a Boeing 747-400 plane from Los Angeles International Airport.

Ryder's publicist refused to comment on the nature of her client's illness. A hospital spokesman confirmed that she had been released.

The actress hit the headlines in December 2001 when she was caught shoplifting from an upmarket department store in Beverly Hills. She was found guilty of cutting the security tags off clothes and walking out of Saks Fifth Avenue on Wilshire Boulevard with £3,500 (€4,158) of unpaid goods.

Police also found drugs for which she had no prescription when they arrested her.

Ryder was charged with vandalism and grand theft, and was sentenced to three years probation and 480 hours of community service.

She played the mentally-ill writer Susanna Kaysen in the 2001 film 'Girl, Interrupted', and played a cameo role as herself in comedy 'Zoolander', while her breakthrough role was in 1988 comedy hit 'Beetlejuice'.

Twice nominated for an Oscar, she won critical acclaim for playing docile May Welland in 'The Age of Innocence', but has always had a reputation as a Hollywood eccentric.

Her godfather was LSD guru Dr Timothy Leary and she was brought up in the Californian counter-culture.

Ryder split from then fiance Matt Damon in 2001 and also had a relationship with actor Johnny Depp. The actor had himself tattooed: “Winona Forever”, but after they split had laser treatment to alter it to “Wino Forever”.