Biography

 

Molly Kathleen Ringwald was born February 18, 1968 in Roseville , California . She is  the daughter of Bob Ringwald ( website www.ringwald.com ), a Jazz Pianist and Banjo player .Her parents owned a cafeteria in Downtown Los Angeles . She has older sister, Beth and older brother, Kelly .She Is fluent in French, having attended the Lycee Francaise School in Los Angeles and having lived and worked in France for a few years, has made movies in French .   The Early Years  Molly started acting at the the age of 5 as Dormouse in "Alice Through the Looking Glass" in a community theater production . At the age of 6, she had recorded ' I Wanna Be Loved by You ' ( go to www.ringwald.com/recordings.htm ) , a music album of Dixieland jazz with her father and his group, the Fulton Street Jazz Band .  She had a guest appearance on the 1970s revival of the Micky Mouse Club .


In 1978, at the age of 10, she played Kate in the touring company of the musical Annie. She appeared in one episode of Diff'rent Strokes and was selected to become a cast member of the spin-off The Facts of Life .
In 1980, Ringwald performed as a lead vocalist on two Disney albums 'Yankee Doodle Mickey ' singing "This Is My Country" and "The Star-Spangled Banner".

 

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 an 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

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.She has stated many times that she regrets turning down those roles 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. She also made one appearance as a blind lady on the critically acclaimed series Remember WENN (American Movie Classics Channel 1996-1998).

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. In 2006 she starred in the TV movie The Wives He Forgot. 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. It was just recently announced that she will now star in a new ABC Family series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which debuted on July 1, 2008.

Personal life

Ringwald briefly dated actor Anthony Michael Hall during the time when they co-starred in Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. During the filming of Pretty in Pink, Ringwald was dating Dweezil Zappa, son of Frank Zappa. She was romantically linked with Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz in the mid '80s. They dated for about a year. At the time, rumors incorrectly hinted at their marriage.

Ringwald married her longtime fianc�, Valery Lameign�re, on July 28, 1999, but they have since filed for divorce. On October 22, 2003, she gave birth to her first child, daughter Mathilda Ereni, with husband (since summer 2007) Panio Gianopoulos, whom she married in Italy.

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