Molly Ringwald

Biography

As an actress, Ringwald appeared in numerous local TV commercials and stage plays before landing a guest spot on The New Mickey Mouse Club. In 1978, at the age of 10, she was chosen to play Kate in the movie Annie. She later took over the role of Pepper, the toughest orphan, in the broadway musical Annie. In 1979, Ringwald appeared in one episode of the television series Diff'rent Strokes and was selected to become a cast member of the spin-off The Facts of Life. Molly played "Molly Parker," a perky, fun-loving student at Eastland Girls School. Although essentially a supporting role, one entire episode, "Molly's Holiday" revolved around her character dealing with the effects of her parents' divorce. After the first thirteen episodes, the producers restructured the show to be more like the popular film Little Darlings,[citation needed] so Ringwald and three other girls were written out of the series in 1980. However, she made a final guest appearance at the start of the second season. In 1980, Ringwald performed as a lead vocalist on two Disney albums. On the patriotic album Yankee Doodle Mickey, Ringwald sang "This Is My Country" and "The Star-Spangled Banner". She later performed one track on a Christmas album. Turning toward motion pictures, she found her breakout role in Sixteen Candles (1984). Molly Ringwald was a member of the so-called Brat Pack of 1980s teen actors. The term was first coined in 1985, after Ringwald's night out with a reporter for New York Magazine. The reporter later published a article designating her and fellow actors Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Mare Winningham, and Anthony Michael Hall as the "Brat Pack."[citation needed] Though she played a high school "princess" in her biggest hit, 1985's The Breakfast Club, Ringwald specialized in portrayals of moody, awkward, brainy, angst-filled characters. Her performances greatly influenced teen-oriented television and movies that would follow in the 1990s, as previous films with teenage subjects were mostly of the horror or exploitation comedy genres, and did not attempt to realistically portray teenage life. Among Ringwald's movies are Fresh Horses, The Pick-up Artist and Pretty in Pink. During the mid- to late-1980s, when Ringwald was Hollywood's top female teen, she appeared on countless covers of such publications as Tiger Beat and Teen. Her career slowed down in the 1990s, as she appeared mainly in made-for-TV and direct-to-video B-horror films. Ringwald reportedly turned down the leading role of Julia Roberts' part in the 1990 box office smash Pretty Woman and also Demi Moore's leading role in the film Ghost.[citation needed] She has stated many times that she regrets turning down those roles,[citation needed] and she has given various reasons as to why she did so. In 1995, her nude appearance in the film Malicious made some media waves due to her previous archetypical 'good girl' movie roles. Her 1996 return to television, starring on the ABC sitcom Townies, was critically praised, but low viewer ratings resulted in the show's cancellation after nine episodes. During the 1990s, Ringwald lived in France for four years and appeared in French-language films. She performed on Broadway before moving to England to perform in stage plays in London. She also starred with Lara Flynn Boyle and Teri Hatcher in the 1998 made-for-television movie Since You've Been Gone. In 2000, she appeared in an episode of Showtime's The Outer Limits. Ringwald appeared in Not Another Teen Movie, a parody/tribute film of many teen films, including some in which she had starred. In late 2004, she starred in the play Modern Orthodox on Broadway, opposite Jason Biggs and Craig Bierko. Ringwald recently appeared in an episode of the TV series Medium in the episode "The Darkness is Light Enough", as a blind woman. In the fall of 2006, Ringwald appeared in Cabaret and Enchanted April on stage, and in the fall and winter of 2006 she starred as Charity Hope Valentine in the national tour of the Broadway revival of the musical Sweet Charity which starred Christina Applegate.[3] However, her performance in the role was not well received, and in June 2007, the role was taken over by Paige Davis.[4]