Molly Ringwald Biography

Actor

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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. Between 1982 and 1986 she was a staple of 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. 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.

Extra credit: Ringwald is also an accomplished stage actor, and in 2006 she began a national tour of Sweet Charity, in the lead role made famous by Broadway star Gwen Verdon.

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