Molly Ringwald Biography

Molly Ringwald was a staple of 1980s Hollywood movies about suburban teens, including Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. This made her an acknowledged member of the “Brat Pack,” an unofficial group of popular young actors that included Demi Moore and Rob Lowe.

The daughter of jazz musician Bob Ringwald, Molly Ringwald made her screen debut in the TV sitcom The Facts of Life in 1979. After just one season she left the show to pursue a film career, first appearing in the 1982 movie Tempest.

Ringwald’s other films include Betsy’s Wedding (1990, with Joe Pesci) and Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999, starring Helen Mirren), and her TV appearances include the 1994 mini-series based on Stephen King‘s The Stand and the series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (she plays the mom!), which began in 2008.