Molly Ringwald | |
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Molly Ringwald, February 2007 |
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Born | Molly Kathleen Ringwald February 18, 1968 Roseville, California, USA |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1977 — present |
Spouse(s) | Valery Lameignère (1999 - 2002) Panio Gianopoulos (2007 - present) |
Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She became popular with teenage audiences in the 1980s, as a result of her starring roles in the John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.
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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.[1][2] Ringwald has two siblings, Elizabeth and Kelly. She started her acting career at age 5, starring in a stage production of Alice in Wonderland as the dormouse. By the time she was 6 years old, she had recorded I Wanna Be Loved by You, a music album of Dixieland jazz with her father and his group, the Fulton Street Jazz Band.
As a young actress, Ringwald appeared in numerous local TV commercials. In 1978, at the age of 10, she was chosen to play Kate in the Second National Tour of Annie, performing in Los Angeles. 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, 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.[3] 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 among Hollywood's top female teens, she appeared on many 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.
Ringwald has appeared in Cabaret, tick, tick... BOOM!, 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.[4] However, her performance in the role was not well received, and in June 2007, the role was taken over by Paige Davis.[5] 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.[6]
Ringwald is the only member of The Brat Pack to appear on screen with a member of both The Frat Pack and the The Rat Pack. She starred with Ben Stiller in the movie Fresh Horses and Joey Bishop in the movie Betsy's Wedding.
As of 2008, she is starring in a new ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She plays Anne Juergens, a woman who married her husband George at the age of 18 because she was pregnant. During the course of the show so far, she deals with her 15 year old daughter's unexpected pregnancy, her 13 year old daughters rebellious streak, her husband's infidelity (leading to her kicking him out of the house), and her mother's Alzheimer's disease.
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 has been married twice:
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Persondata | |
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NAME | Ringwald, Molly |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ringwald, Molly Kathleen |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actress |
DATE OF BIRTH | 1968-02-18 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Roseville, CA, United States |
DATE OF DEATH | 2008-7-25 |
PLACE OF DEATH | New york,New york |