Ryan attended St. Andrew's Catholic Primary School and Mary MacKillop Girls College.

[2] Ryan worked as a packer and sales clerk before starting a teaching degree at Melbourne State College in 1980.

[5] In 2013, Ryan won ALP preselection for the Division of Lalor following the retirement of former prime minister Julia Gillard.

Several other candidates withdrew during the preselection process, including future senator Kimberley Kitching who had been endorsed by Bill Shorten.

[1] In September 2017, Ryan intervened in the preselection process for the state seat of Tarneit, calling on the ALP to expel candidate Intaj Khan.