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Molly Ringwald

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Molly Ringwald
Ringwald in Greece
Born
Molly Kathleen Ringwald

(1968-02-18) February 18, 1968 (age 56)
Roseville, California, United States
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, dancer, writer
Years active1977–present
Spouse(s)
Valery Lameignère
​
​
(m. 1999; div. 2002)​

​
(m. 2007)​
Children3

Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her first major role was in The Facts of Life (1979–80) before making her motion picture debut in the independent film Tempest (1982) that earned her a Golden Globe nomination. After subsequently appearing in the successful John Hughes films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986), Ringwald became a teen icon. She later starred in The Pick-up Artist (1987), and For Keeps (1988). She starred in many films in the 1990s, most notably Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story (1992) and The Stand (1994). Ringwald is part of the "Brat Pack" and she was ranked number 1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars.[1][2][3] She has played Anne Juergens in the ABC Family show The Secret Life of the American Teenager and released her debut album Except Sometimes in early 2013.

Early life

Ringwald was born in Roseville, California, just outside Sacramento,[4] the daughter of Adele Edith (née Frembd), a housewife and chef, and Robert Scott "Bob" Ringwald, a blind jazz pianist.[5] Ringwald has two siblings, Beth and Kelly, and an older brother who died before she was born.[6] She started her acting career at age five, appearing in a stage production of Alice Through the Looking Glass 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.[7]

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.[8]

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. 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.[9]

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.[10] Turning toward motion pictures, she was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her role in the 1982 film Tempest.[11]

1984–89: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, and early success

Ringwald rose to prominence with her breakout role in Sixteen Candles (1984). She was cast as Samantha Baker, a girl whose sixteenth birthday is forgotten. Ringwald's performance gained critical acclaim; many called her acting engaging.[12] Ringwald would later say, "It is not a good idea to do remakes of great classic films" when asked if there would be a remake to Sixteen Candles.[13] Ringwald was regarded as a member of the so-called Brat Pack of 1980s teen actors[14] but has said she was not really part of that group.[15] Ringwald gained more success when she was cast in another John Hughes film called The Breakfast Club (1985) which was a commercial and critical success. Ringwald was cast as Claire Standish, a spoiled rich, so-called sophisticate who is in detention for skipping class. Ringwald's performance gained strong reviews.

The following year, she was cast as Andie Walsh in another successful Hughes film called Pretty In Pink (1986). Ringwald's role as Andie went on to become one of her most recognizable performances. When first asked to be in Pretty in Pink, Ringwald was reluctant, but after seeing how hard it was for the producers to find a replacement for her, she decided she would portray Andie in the film. Ringwald was offered a role in another John Hughes film called Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) but she turned down the role as she felt it was too similar to her other films she worked on with Hughes. After Pretty In Pink, Ringwald planned to star in more mature roles. Ringwald was later featured on the cover of Time on May 26, 1986.[16]

Ringwald was set to star in another Hughes film called Oil and Vinegar; the film was scrapped when John refused to rewrite the script. The film would have been about a soon-to-be-married man and a hitchhiking girl talking about their lives during the length of the car ride.[17][18] In 1987, she was cast as Randy Jensen in The Pick-up Artist, opposite Robert Downey, Jr. in one of his first lead roles.[19] The film was met with mixed reviews while being a moderate commercial success. The Pick-up Artist focused on a womanizer who meets his match when he falls for a woman in debt to the mafia.[20]

The following year she starred in For Keeps, a commercial success that received mixed reviews by critics but was well received by audiences. It is considered Ringwald's final teen movie. Ringwald portrayed Darcy Elliot, the editor at her high school paper, who gets pregnant by her long term boyfriend Stan, who was portrayed by Randall Batinkoff. Ringwald's performance received positive reviews. The film was praised by some critics for showing the struggles of teen pregnancy. She was later cast in Fresh Horses. The film was met with generally negative reviews and under-performed at the box office. The film also starred Andrew McCarthy, who previously worked with Ringwald in Pretty in Pink.[21]

1990–99: The Stand and continued acting

In the early 1990s, Ringwald reportedly turned down the female lead roles in Pretty Woman and Ghost.[22] In the mid-1990s, Ringwald, who 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.[23] She returned home to the US intermittently to appear in American movies and television. In 1990, Ringwald appeared in the James Scott-directed Strike It Rich alongside Robert Lindsay and John Gielgud. That same year she starred in Betsy's Wedding as Betsy Hopper. This film gained generally mixed reviews despite being a commercial success. Ringwald later starred in Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story (1992). The film was based on the life of Alison Gertz.

In 1994, she was cast as Frannie Goldsmith, in the TV adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. Ringwald's performance was generally well received. She later played the leading role in the film Malicious (1995) as Melissa Nelson, a disturbed woman who has an affair with a college star baseball player. She later starred in the ABC sitcom Townies. 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: Film, Theater, and Television.

Ringwald at the WeHo Book Fair in 2010

In 2000 Ringwald appeared in the ensemble restaurant-themed film In the Weeds, and in 2001 she had a cameo in the commercially successful Not Another Teen Movie that earned her an MTV Movie Award nomination. In theater, she wore a "Green, Green Dress" in Jonathan Larson's Off-Broadway musical tick, tick... BOOM!,[24] and headlined as Sally Bowles in Broadway's long-running revival of Cabaret from December 18, 2001 until April 28, 2002.[25] In 2003 Ringwald appeared in Enchanted April on Broadway beginning April 8, but left after the June 15 performance due to pregnancy.[26] In late 2004 she starred in the play Modern Orthodox on Broadway, opposite Jason Biggs and Craig Bierko.[27] In 2006 she starred in the television film The Wives He Forgot, and that fall and winter starred as Charity Hope Valentine in the national tour of the Broadway revival of the musical Sweet Charity.[28] She also played a supporting role as Molly McIntire's mother Helen in Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front.[29] Ringwald starred in the ABC Family network's series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which debuted on July 1, 2008,[30] playing the title teenager's mother. Ringwald read the audiobook edition of the 2012 novel The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg.

2013–present: Except Sometimes, Wishin' and Hopin' and future roles

In early 2013, Ringwald released Except Sometimes, 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. 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.[31]

Ringwald played Madame Frechette in the 2014 Lifetime Christmas film Wishin' and Hopin'.[32] Ringwald plays Aunt Bailey in Jem and the Holograms, raising Jerrica, her sister Kimber, and adopted daughters.[33][34]

Ringwald in April 2013

In September 2014, Ringwald began writing an advice column for The Guardian, answering questions about "love, family, or life in general".[35]

Bibliography

Personal life

Ringwald was married to Valéry Lameignère, a French writer, in Bordeaux, France, on July 28, 1999; they divorced in 2002.[36] 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.[37]

Public image

Ringwald has stated that she was very aware of her public image during her teen years and that she tried to be a good role model for her fans. When asked about For Keeps (1988), Ringwald said, "I didn't want to give the wrong message to teenagers. I sort of felt a certain responsibility -– I mean, I was a very, very famous teenager and I thought a lot of teenagers were looking up to me and emulating me, and I really didn't want to make a movie that said in any way that having a baby at that age was going to be easy."[38] She has been regarded as one of the greatest teen stars on numerous occasions. She was parodied on an episode of Family Guy being Peter Griffins wife in an alternate timeline.[1][2][3]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1982 Tempest Miranda Dimitrius
1983 Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone Niki
Packin' It In Melissa Webber Television film
1984 Sixteen Candles Samantha Baker
1985 Surviving: A Family in Crisis Lonnie Television film
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
Fresh Horses Jewel
1990 Strike It Rich Cary
Betsy's Wedding Betsy Hopper
1992 Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story Alison Gertz Television film
1993 Face the Music Lisa Hunter
1994 Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade Theresa Tatum Short
1995 Baja Bebe Stone
Seven Sundays Janet Gifford
Malicious Melissa Nelson
1996 Bastard Children Susan
1997 Office Killer Kim Poole
1998 Twice upon a Time Beth Sager Television film
Titey Anne Frank (Voice) Short
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
The Translator Short
2001 Cowboy Up Connie
Not Another Teen Movie Flight Attendant
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
2014 Wishin' and Hopin' Madame Frechette Television film
2014 Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films Documentary
2015 Jem and the Holograms Aunt Bailey
2015 Bad Night The Collector
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1979–1980 Diff'rent Strokes Molly Parker 2 episodes
1979–1980 The Facts of Life Molly Parker Main Role (Season 1–2); 14 episodes
1986 Tall Tales & Legends Jenny Smith Episode: "Johnny Appleseed"
1994 The Stand Frannie Goldsmith Lead Role
1996 Townies Carrie Donovan Lead Role
Remember WENN Angela Colton Episode: "Sight Unseen"
1998 Saturday Night Live Anne Frank (voice) Episode: "Steve Buscemi/Third Eye Blind"
2000 The $treet Devyn Alden Episode: "Propheting on Losses"
The Outer Limits Allison Channing Episode: "Judgment Day"
2006 Medium Kathleen Walsh Episode: “The Darkness is Light Enough”
2008–2013 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Anne Juergens Main Cast
2011 Psych Nurse McElroy Episode: "Shawn, Interrupted"
RuPaul's Drag U Herself Episode: "Like a Virgin"
2014 Rainbow Brite Dark Princess (voice) 3 episodes

Discography

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
1983 Golden Globes New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Female Tempest Nominated
1983 Young Artist Award Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Tempest Nominated
1985 Young Artist Award Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama Sixteen Candles Won
1988 Paris Film Festival Best Actress For Keeps Won
1989 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress Nominated
1991 Razzie Awards Worst Actress Betsy's Wedding Nominated
2002 MTV Movie Award Best Cameo Not Another Teen Movie Nominated
2005 MTV Movie Awards Silver Bucket of Excellence Award The Breakfast Club Won
2008 TV Land Awards Favorite Character(s) Who "Went Missing" The Facts of Life Nominated
2009 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Parental Unit The Secret Life of the American Teenager Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b "50 Greatest Teen Stars of All Time". Extra. Retrieved April 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b Davis, Laura (December 4, 2009). "Child stars: where are they now?". The Independent. Retrieved April 17, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b 50 Greatest Teen Stars of All Time. TV.com. Retrieved on May 29, 2011.
  4. ^ Sweetbriar, BeBe (April 18, 2013). "Molly Ringwald Swings on New CD". EDGE Boston. Retrieved July 20, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
    • a "BeBe: I'm from the Sacramento, California area as are you, and we did a production of 'Oliver' together (as apart of Fagin's gang) at Sacramento State University once upon a time." – ¶ 14.
    • b "BeBe: With my experience in knowing you from way back when in the theaters of our hometown of Sacramento, I was not of course surprised with this release from you knowing your roots in jazz with your Dad...— ¶ 34.
  5. ^ Molly Ringwald Biography (1968–). Filmreference.com. Retrieved on May 29, 2011.
  6. ^ [1]. This American Life Episode 526, Transcript.
  7. ^ Sacramento's Fulton Street Jazz Band's Recordings. Fultonstreetjazz.com. Retrieved on May 29, 2011.
  8. ^ Karlyn, Kathleen Rowe, "'Too Close for Comfort': American Beauty and the Incest Motif", Cinema Journal, 44, Number 1, Fall 2004, pp. 69–93. University of Texas Press.
  9. ^ Voss, Brandon (April 26, 2010). "Molly Ringwald: Pretty in Print". Advocate.com. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Disney Family Christmas: Various Artists, Molly Ringwald, Larry Groce: Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved on May 29, 2011.
  11. ^ Gora, Susannah (2010). You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried. Three Rivers Press. p. 26.
  12. ^ Jump up ^ Staff (January 1, 1984). "Sixteen Candles". Variety. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  13. ^ ^ Miles Bradford (2010). "Molly Ringwald not a fan of remaking one of her classic 80's movies". KABC-TV. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  14. ^ Lurie, Karen. "Brat Pack". St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Gale Group.
  15. ^ "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", broadcast July 3, 2010.
  16. ^ "Molly Ringwald on the cover of Time". http://content.time.com. http://content.time.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= and |website= (help)
  17. ^ Jump up ^ "The Lost Projects of John Hughes | Splitsider". splitsider.com. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  18. ^ ^ "Howard Deutch on True Blood and John Hughes -- Vulture". vulture.com. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  19. ^ ^ "'The Pick-Up Artist' (PG-13)". Washingtonpost.com. September 18, 1987. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  20. ^ "The Pick-up Artist". http://imdb.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  21. ^ "Fresh Horses reception". http://rottentomatoes.com. http://rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= and |website= (help)
  22. ^ Monica Corcoran (June 29, 2008). "Molly Ringwald: Pretty in Pucci". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 6, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/catalog/personDetails/53155
  24. ^ Melissa Rose Bernardo (November 2, 2001). "Tick, Tick...Boom (2001)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  25. ^ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/molly-ringwald-leaves-cabaret-april-28-105381
  26. ^ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/expecting-molly-ringwald-exits-broadways-enchanted-april-june-15-113785
  27. ^ Austerlitz, Saul (December 13, 2004). "A comic Jewish duel". Haaretz. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  28. ^ AP. "Molly Ringwald to take 'Sweet Charity' on the road this fall", USA Today, February 27, 2006.
  29. ^ Rouvalis, Cristina (November 23, 2006). "TV Preview: 'Molly' is the best 'American Girl' yet". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  30. ^ "Molly Ringwald's Not A Teenager Anymore!", TV Guide, July 1, 2008.
  31. ^ "Molly Ringwald Covers The Movie Theme That Made Her Famous", Noise11.com, March 11, 2013.
  32. ^ Wishin' and Hopin', MyLifetime.com
  33. ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20818485,00.html
  34. ^ "Jem and the Holograms (2015)". IMDB. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  35. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/12/guardian-revamps-weekday-weekend-editions
  36. ^ Agger, Michael (May 21, 2005). "Don't You Forget About Me". nymag.com. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  37. ^ Molly Ringwald Expecting Twins People, January 23, 2009
  38. ^ http://jezebel.com/5526331/molly-ringwald-on-teen-pregnancy-bristol-palin-and-for-keeps
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