Molly Ringwald

Molly Ringwald
Ringwald in Greece, 2010
Born	Molly Kathleen Ringwald (1968-02-18) February 18, 1968 Roseville, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer, dancer, writer
Years active	1977–present
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Spouse(s)	Valery Lameignère (1999–2002) Panio Gianopoulos (m. 2007)
Children	3

Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Having appeared in the John Hughes films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986), Ringwald is part of the "Brat Pack" and she was ranked number 1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars. She has also played Anne Juergens in the ABC Family show The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Early life

Molly Kathleen Ringwald was born in Roseville, California, just outside of Sacramento, the daughter of Adele Edith (née Frembd), a housewife and chef, and Robert Scott "Bob" Ringwald, a blind jazz pianist. Ringwald has two siblings, Elizabeth and Kelly, and an older brother who died before she was born. She started her acting career at age five, starring in a stage production of Alice in Wonderland as the Dormouse. The next year, she recorded "I Wanna Be Loved by You," a music album of Dixieland jazz with her father and his group, the Fulton Street Jazz Band.

Life and career

1978-83: Career beginnings

In 1978, at the age of 10, Ringwald was chosen to play Kate in the West Coast production of Annie, performing in Los Angeles.

In 1979, Ringwald appeared in the TV series Diff'rent Strokes and was selected to become part of a very large cast of the spin-off Facts of Life. She played "Molly Parker," a perky, feminist student at Eastland Girls School. One entire episode, "Molly's Holiday" revolved around her character dealing with the effects of her parents' divorce. At the beginning of the second season, the show underwent a major revamp and most of the cast, including Ringwald, were fired. Ringwald later said that Nancy McKeon replaced her to play a new character named Jo.

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", "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America". She later performed one track on a Disney Christmas album. Turning toward motion pictures, she was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her role in the 1982 film Tempest.

1984-87: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, and early success

She then rose to prominence with her breakout role in Sixteen Candles. Following Sixteen Candles Ringwald became a member of the so-called Brat Pack of 1980s teen actors. Ringwald was later cast in another John Hughes film called The Breakfast Club which was a commercial and critical success. The following year she was in another Hughes film called Pretty In Pink which was another success. Ringwald was offered a role in another John Hughes film called Some Kind of Wonderful but she turned down the role as she felt it was to similar to her other films she made with John. Her films with John Hughes all became modern classics, with many critics praising her performance. She later starred in The Pick-up Artist which was commercially successful but received mixed reviews. On May 26, 1986 Ringwald appeared on the cover of Time Ringwald was set to star in another John Hughes film called, Oil and Vinegar however John was told to rewrite the script and he didn't want to so the film was cancelled.

File:Ringwald and Hughes.jpg

Molly Ringwald and John Hughes Behind The Scenes of Pretty in Pink, 1985.

1988-90: For Keeps and continued success

Following her roles with John Hughes she planned to star in more mature roles. In 1988 she starred in the film For Keeps which was another commercial success and received mixed to positive reviews. Many critics cited this film as her final teen movie. Ringwald's next role was in Fresh Horses which was a moderate commercial success and received mixed reviews. She later starred in Strike It Rich which was a critical and commercial failure. In the early 1990s, Ringwald reportedly turned down the female lead roles in Pretty Woman and Ghost.

1991-99: Commercial decline

In the 1990s, Ringwald starred in the film Betsy's Wedding, it was met with generally mixed reviews but was commercially successful. Following Betsy's Wedding, Molly was nominated for Razzie Award for Worst Actress. After Ringwald's success began to decline in the early 1990s, since she had been educated at a French high school in Los Angeles called Lycée Français de Los Angeles and was fluent in French, moved to Paris and starred in several French movies. She returned home to the US intermittently to appear in American movies and television which all varied in success.

In 1994, she starred in the TV adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand, it was met with generally positive reviews. In 1996, she played a leading role in the film Malicious as Melissa Nelson, a disturbed woman who has an affair with a college star baseball player. It was met with generally mixed to negative reviews. In 1996 saw her return to television, starring on the ABC sitcom Townies. Townies was eventually cancelled shortly after airing. She also made one appearance as a blind woman on the critically acclaimed cable series Remember WENN. She starred with Lara Flynn Boyle and Teri Hatcher in the 1998 made for television film Since You've Been Gone. In 1999, she played the starring role of "Li'l Bit" in Paula Vogel's play How I Learned to Drive at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In 2000, she appeared in an episode of Showtime's The Outer Limits.

2000-12: Television roles

Ringwald in April 2013

In 2000, Ringwald appeared in the ensemble restaurant-themed film, In the Weeds; in 2001, she had a cameo in Not Another Teen Movie. In late 2004, she starred in the play Modern Orthodox on Broadway, opposite Jason Biggs and Craig Bierko. In 2006, she starred in the television film The Wives He Forgot.

Ringwald has appeared in Cabaret; Tick, tick... BOOM!; and Enchanted April on Broadway, 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.

Ringwald starred in the ABC Family network's series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which debuted on July 1, 2008, playing the title teenager's mother.

Ringwald read the audiobook edition of the 2012 novel The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg.

2013-present: Except Sometimes and future roles

In early 2013, Ringwald released Except Sometimes. The album is a jazz record. It follows a tradition in jazz for the Ringwald family set by her father. “I grew up in a home filled with music and had an early appreciation of jazz since my dad was a jazz musician [pianist Bob Ringwald]. Beginning at around age three I started singing with his band and jazz music has continued to be one of my three passions along with acting and writing. I like to say jazz music is my musical equivalent of comfort food. It’s always where I go back to when I want to feel grounded,” Ringwald said in a statement. It has been confirmed that Ringwald will have a role in the upcoming movie Jem: The Movie.

Bibliography

Ringwald at the WeHo Book Fair in 2010

Ringwald has written two books:

• Molly Ringwald (2010). Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick. It Books. ISBN 0-06-180944-6., a "memoir and girlfriend-y guide to girlfriend-y things — style, food, relationships, motherhood."
• Molly Ringwald (2012). When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories. It Books. ISBN 0-06-180946-2., "a novel told in stories centered around Phillip and Greta, a couple whose marriage is floundering."

Personal life

Ringwald was dating Dweezil Zappa in 1986. She was married to Valéry Lameignère, a French writer, in Bordeaux, France, on July 28, 1999; they divorced in 2002. She married Panio Gianopoulos, a Greek-American writer and book editor, in 2007. They have a daughter, Mathilda (born 2003), and twins, Adele and Roman (born 2009). Her pregnancy was written into the storyline of The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Legacy

Molly has been called the greatest teen star of all time. The three films she made with John Hughes became critical and commercial successes and became modern classics, they have influenced many modern teen movies. Ringwald's roles in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty In Pink have been praised by critics and audiences a like. It has been said that she will always be an influence on teens because of these roles. She has influenced many people including, Ariana Grande, Debby Ryan, and Shailene Woodley. Following her roles in the John Hughes films, Ringwald gained a large fan base and at one point had a group of girls (one critic calls them "the Ringlets"), mimic her looks and dress during the early success in her career.

Filmography

Features
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1982	Tempest	Miranda Dimitrius	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
1983	Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone	Niki
	Packin' It In	Melissa Webber
1984	Sixteen Candles	Samantha Baker	Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film
1985	Surviving: A Family in Crisis	Lonnie
	The Breakfast Club	Claire Standish
1986	Pretty in Pink	Andie Walsh
1987	P.K. and the Kid	P.K. Bayette
	King Lear	Cordelia
	The Pick-up Artist	Randy Jensen
1988	For Keeps	Darcy Elliot Bobrucz	Paris Film Festival Award for Best Actress (tied with Elisabeth Shue)
	Fresh Horses	Jewel
1990	Strike It Rich	Cary
	Betsy's Wedding	Betsy Hopper	Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
1992	Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story	Alison Gertz
1993	Face the Music	Lisa Hunter
1995	Baja	Bebe Stone
	Seven Sundays	Janet Gifford
1996	Bastard Children	Susan
	Malicious	Melissa Nelson
1997	Office Killer	Kim Poole
1998	Twice upon a Life	Beth Sager
1999	Requiem for Murder	Anne Winslow
	Teaching Mrs. Tingle	Miss Banks
	Kimberly	Nancy
2000	Cut	Vanessa Turnbill/Chloe
	The Brutal Truth
	In the Weeds	Chloe
2001	Cowboy Up	Connie
	Not Another Teen Movie	Flight Attendant	Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Cameo
2003	The Tulse Luper Suitcases
2006	The Wives He Forgot	Charlotte Saint John	Television film
	Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front	Helen McIntire	Television film
2008	Guest of Cindy Sherman		Documentary
TBA	Jem: The Movie
Short
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade	Theresa Tatum
1998	Titey	voice
2000	The Translator
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	The New Mickey Mouse Club	Herself
1979–1980	The Facts of Life	Molly Parker	Nominated—TV Land Award for Favorite Character(s) Who "Went Missing"
1986	Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends: Johnny Appleseed	Jenny Smith
1994	The Stand	Frannie Goldsmith
1996	Townies	Carrie Donovan
2006	Medium	Kathleen Walsh	1 episode “The Darkness is Light Enough”
2008–2013	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Anne Juergens	Main cast Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Parental Unit (shared with Mark Derwin)
2011	Psych	Nurse McElroy	1 episode
	RuPaul's Drag U	Herself

Discography

• Except Sometimes

External links

• Molly Ringwald at IMDb
• Molly Ringwald at AllMovie
• Broadway.com interview (October 8, 2001)