By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:33am PDT, May 2, 2019
Let's light some candles for "Sixteen Candles"! The iconic teen rom-com turns 35 on May 4, 2019. In honor of the film's special anniversary, let's take a look at what the cast is up to now…
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Move over, Jake Ryan. The man in Molly Ringwald's real life is writer Panio Gianopoulos. The couple have been married since 2007 and have three kids: daughter Mathilda Ereni and twins Adele Georgiana and Roman Stylianos. Molly was previously married to French writer Valéry Lameignère. Molly, of course, became one of the biggest stars of the '80s, starring in movies like "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink." But once the '90s rolled around, her career started to go south. Molly made a comeback in 2008 playing Shailene Woodley's character's mom on the ABC Family series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." She currently plays Mary Andrews on the hit CW show "Riverdale." Molly has written two books: a 2010 memoir, "Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick," and a 2012 novel, "When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories." She also released a jazz album in 2013 titled "Except Sometimes." She dedicated her cover of Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" to the late John Hughes.
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Michael Schoeffling played Jake Ryan, Sam's rich and handsome crush, in "Sixteen Candles."
Michael Schoeffling acted in a few more movies including 1985's "Vision Quest" and 1990's "Mermaids" (shown). But after 1991's "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken," he left Hollywood, citing a lack of roles and the need to provide for his family as his reasons for retiring. Michael has since fallen off the map, but he's believed to live near Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Valerie. The couple have two kids, Scarlet and Zane. Michael has a sexy post-acting career: creating handcrafted furniture. Swoon! There are no recent public photos of him, so we can only hope he's still as impossibly gorgeous today as he was in the '80s.
Anthony Michael Hall played Ted aka Farmer Ted, a brace-faced geek who's in love with Sam, in "Sixteen Candles."
Though the geek didn't end up dating Sam, Anthony Michael Hall did date Molly Ringwald. The two Brat Packers were an item between making "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club." Go, Farmer Ted! Anthony continued to get his geek on in two more John Hughes films, "The Breakfast Club" and "Weird Science," but turned down parts in "Pretty in Pink" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," fearing being typecast as a nerd. At 17, he spent a season as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live." Then, in 1988, Anthony took a two-year hiatus from Hollywood to battle problems with alcohol, returning with a buffed-up bod in "Edward Scissorhands." He's since appeared in movies like "Six Degrees of Separation" and "The Dark Knight." And while he's never eclipsed his '80s roles, Anthony did star on the USA Network series "The Dead Zone" for five seasons. He most recently guest starred on a 2018 episode of "Riverdale." The actor has also had some legal troubles over the years. In 2009, ex-girlfriend Diana Falzone got a restraining order against him after he allegedly tried to kick in her door. Then, in 2011, he was arrested after allegedly threatening his neighbor. Five years later, Anthony was arrested again after reportedly attacking his neighbor. He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge and was given three years of probation and 40 hours of community service in 2017.
Gedde Watanabe played Long Duk Dong, a wacky foreign exchange student in "Sixteen Candles." While Long Duk Dong was a big breakout role for Gedde, the Utah-born actor also got a lot of flak for playing the super-stereotypical character.
So what's happenin' for Gedde Watanabe? We don't know if he has a sexy girlfriend, but we do know that he's continued to act. He went on to play Kaz Kazuhiro on "Gung Ho" and Hiroshi on "Sesame Street." Gedde also voiced Ling for Disney's "Mulan" and appeared in movies like "UHF" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." But aside from Long Duk Dong, he's best known for playing Nurse Yosh Takata on "ER" for seven seasons. More recently, Gedde voiced the character of Hamster Mitch on "Bravest Warriors" in 2017.
Haviland Morris played snobby prom queen Caroline Mulford in "Sixteen Candles."
Haviland Morris has continued to act since "Sixteen Candles," appearing in movies like "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" and on shows like "Sex and the City" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She also spent two seasons playing Claire Baxter on "One Life to Live." But these days, she makes a living working as a real estate agent in New York, where she lives with her husband, Robert Score, and children, Faith and Henry.
Justin Henry played Mike Baker, Sam's younger brother, in "Sixteen Candles."
Justin Henry acted in a few more movies before taking an acting hiatus to go to college. In 1993, he graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in psychology. He founded the Slamdunk Film Festival — the first-ever fest to exhibit films 100 percent digitally — which ran from 1998 until 2003. Justin currently lives in Los Angeles where he works as the director of business development for Varick, a marketing and advertising firm. He's also a partner at the Worthington Media Group.
John Cusack played Bryce, Farmer Ted's geeky pal, in "Sixteen Candles."
After "Sixteen Candles," John Cusack quickly became one of the most sought-after young actors of the '80s. Starring roles in movies like "Better Off Dead" and "Say Anything" followed soon after. He's continued to work consistently over the years, appearing in movies like "High Fidelity," "Being John Malkovich," "Grosse Pointe Blank," "Hot Tub Time Machine" and "Bullets Over Broadway." He got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. Up next, John will star in 2019's "Never Grow Old" and "Distorted." And although he didn't get to hook up with the prom queen in "Sixteen Candles," John has had his fair share of hot leading ladies in real life, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Minnie Driver, Neve Campbell, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe and Brooke Burns.
Blanche Baker starred as drug-addled bride (and Sam's big sister) Ginny in "Sixteen Candles."
In real life, Blanche Baker has walked down the aisle twice. She wed director Bruce Van Dusen in 1983, but the couple split in 2002. The following year, she married Mark Magill. Blanche has four kids: three from her first marriage, one from her second. Blanche continued to act after "Sixteen Candles," but by the mid-'90s, she'd bowed out of Hollywood to pursue a career in bronze sculpture. Although she acts in indie films from time to time, she currently works as a real estate agent in New York. Her most recent acting project was the 2014 TV movie "Wishin' and Hopin'."
Joan Cusack, played Geek Girl #1, better-known as the hilarious girl with the neck brace, in "Sixteen Candles."
"Sixteen Candles" marked the second of 10 times that Joan Cusack would co-star with her brother, John Cusack. Other Joan-John flicks include "Say Anything," "Class" and "Broadcast News." Joan has also had a healthy movie career independent of her brother, appearing in movies like "Working Girl" and "In & Out," both of which earned her Oscar nominations for best supporting actress. On the small screen, she's played Sheila on "Shameless," which has earned her three Emmy noms. Next up, she'll lend her voice to 2019's "Toy Story 4." When she's not working, Joan lives in Chicago with her lawyer husband, Richard Burke, with whom she has two sons, Dylan John and Miles.
