By Neia Balao
6:29am PST, Mar 1, 2021
Molly Ringwald was the ultimate queen of '80s teen flicks — including "Pretty in Pink," which celebrated its 35th anniversary on Feb. 28, 2021. To mark the occasion, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at what Molly, co-star Jon Cryer and more of our favorite '80s teen movie stars have been up to in the years since the film's release… Keep reading to get started…
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Molly Ringwald became a household name thanks to her starring roles in three John Hughes movies in the '80s. The actress, a member of the decade's Brat Pack, played high school sophomore Samantha, whose family forgets her milestone birthday, in 1984's "Sixteen Candles." She was snobby but insecure Claire, who gets stuck in Saturday detention with kids from other social groups, in the 1985 coming-of-age flick "The Breakfast Club" (pictured). And she played Andie, a cool-beyond-her-years but unpopular teen who falls for one of the rich kids at her high school, breaking her best friend's heart, in the 1986 classic "Pretty in Pink." Find out what she's been up to since…
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Following her time as an '80s teen queen, Molly Ringwald starred in several more buzzy films including "The Pick-up Artist," "Fresh Horses" and "For Keeps." Her career continued to flourish in the '90s — she acted in 1992's "Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story," 1994's "The Stand" and the 1996 television series "Townies." Things slowed down in Hollywood for a time — Molly who's fluent in French, moved to France and acted in movies there — but in the aughts, after appearing in several shorts and made-for-television movies, Molly landed a supporting role on ABC's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," on which she appeared from 2008 to 2013. Since 2017, Molly has portrayed Mary Andrews — Archie's mom — on The CW's "Riverdale," and in 2018, she originated the role of Mrs. Flynn in Netflix's "The Kissing Booth" film series (a role she'll reprise in the franchise's third installment which debuts in 2021). Next up, she'll star in the mystery film "Montauk." After a long relationship and brief marriage to French novelist Valery Lameignère ended in 2002, she married writer Panio Gianopoulos in 2007. They have three children.
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Jon Cryer starred alongside Molly Ringwald in 1986's "Pretty in Pink." He portrayed Duckie, Andy's best friend who also happens to be madly in love with her!
Sure, we loved him as Duckie, but Jon Cryer has gone on to appear in even more projects since then! The actor, who made his feature film debut in 1984's "No Small Affair," became a TV star in 2003 when he began starring on "Two and a Half Men." He earned two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009 and 2012 for his work on th hit sitcom. In addition to appearing on television shows like "NCIS," "The Ranch," "Will and Grace" and "Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television," Jon has also portrayed Lex Luthor on CBS's "Supergirl" since 2019. He's set to appear in the forthcoming thriller film "18 1/2." Jon also found love! In 2007, he married reporter Lisa Joyner. They have one child. He was previously married to Sarah Trigger, the mother of his first child, from 1999 to 2004.
Anthony Michael Hall is no stranger to John Hughes films. His first collaboration with John was in 1984's "Sixteen Candles," in which he portrayed Ted, a geeky teen who has a massive crush on Sam (Molly Ringwald). He appeared in 1985's "The Breakfast Club" as brainiac Brian Johnson, who grows tired of being perceived as the perfect child. That same year, he starred in the sci-fi comedy "Weird Science" as nerdy teen Gary Wallace.
While we came to love him for his portrayal of nerdy characters in the '80s, Anthony Michael Hall shed that image in no time! After briefly joining the cast of "Saturday Night Live," he went on to appear in films like "Out of Bounds," "Edward Scissorhands," "The Photographer," "All About the Benjamins," "The Dark Knight," "Foxcatcher" and "War Machine." Much like other celebrities on this list, Anthony took his talents to the small screen. From 2002 to 2007, he starred on USA Network's "The Dead Zone" and in 2020, he appeared on "The Blacklist" and "The Goldbergs." The actor has quite a few projects on the horizon — in addition to playing Tommy Doyle in "Halloween Kills," he'll next appear in the films "Something About Her," "Zero" and "The Class." In 2019, he became engaged to "Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood" actress Lucia Oskerova.
In John Hughes' 1985 film "The Breakfast Club," Emilio Estevez played Andrew Clark, an athlete who's weighed down by his father's expectations.
Emilio Estevez was a prominent member of the Brat Pack — he also appeared in "St. Elmo's Fire" and "The Outsiders." The actor — who in the '80s had two children with model Carey Salley and was engaged to Demi Moore before going on to marry and divorce Paula Abdul in the early '90s — went on to star in films like "Repo Man," "The Mighty Ducks" trilogy, "Young Guns," "Stakeout" and its sequel and "Bobby," which he also directed. EMilio has in recent years carved out a career as a TV and film director, helming episodes of "CSI: NY," "Cold Case," "Numb3rs" and more. Next up, he'll reprise his role as Gordon Bombay in Disney+'s sports drama series "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers," which is set to debut on the streaming service in March 2021. In 2022, he'll star in "Guns 3: Alias Billy the Kid," which he also directed and co-wrote. Emilio, the son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of actor Charlie Sheen, found love again with writer Sonja Magdevski. The couple got engaged in 2006 and later married. They have operated the California winery Casa Dumetz Wines.
Is there a more iconic image than this? In 1989's "Say Anything…," John Cusack starred as notorious slacker and all-around average guy Lloyd Dobler. The film, which was praised as heartfelt and honest without compromising the complexities of coming of age, earned $21.5 million on a $16 million budget.
Since making his feature film debut back in the '80s, John Cusack has gone on to craft an incredibly impressive career. He's since starred in several films including "Bullets over Broadway," "Being John Malkovich," "High Fidelity," "Runaway Jury," "Maps to the Stars" and 2019's "Never Grow Old." John — the brother of actresses Joan and Ann Cusack — more recently starred as Dr. Kevin Christie on the Amazon Original series "Utopia" for one season before its cancellation in 2020. John, who's never wed, is next set to star in the comedy "My Only Sunshine" alongside J.K. Simmons.
Even the most seemingly put-together teens aren't without their struggles. In Cameron Crowe's "Say Anything…," which debuted in 1989, Ione Skye played the studious Diane Court, Lloyd Dobler's (John Cusack) longtime crush who has an overbearing and duplicitous father (John Mahoney).
After portraying intelligent teen Diane Court, Ione Skye went on to appear in films like "Gas Food Lodging," "Wayne's World," "One Night Stand" and "Fever Pitch." The actress has also graced the small screen, having landed roles on "The Twilight Zone," "Private Practice," "Arrested Development" and, more recently, "Good Girls" in 2020. She also has a film and TV series in the works: "Holy New York" and "UDrive Me." Ione was once married to Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz and previously romanced Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, model Jenny Shimizu and furniture designer David Netto, with whom she shares a daughter. In 2008, she married musician Ben Lee, with whom she welcomed her second daughter in 2009.
Our favorite rule breaker? That'd be Ferris Bueller! In John Hughes' 1986 film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Matthew Broderick played the rebellious high school senior who fakes being sick so he can spend the day gallivanting around Chicago with his best friend (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend (Mia Sara).
After portraying the titular character in 1986's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Matthew Broderick appeared in several films including "The Freshman," "The Cable Guy" and "Godzilla," in addition to voicing Simba in Disney's "The Lion King." Matthew's also no stranger to Broadway — in fact, he's a two-time Tony Award winner! In addition to appearing in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (he became the youngest recipient of the Tony for best featured actor in a play in 1983 for his work in the project), he's also starred in "The Producers," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "It's Only a Play" and "Nice Work If You Can Get It." Since 2019, he's portrayed Michael Burr on Netflix's "Daybreak." In 1997, Matthew married "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker. The couple share three children together.
Mia Sara played Sloane Peterson, Ferris's girlfriend in 1984's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
After "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Mia Sara earned a Saturn Award for best supporting actress for her work in 1994's "Timecop." She went on to appear in several films throughout the '90s including "By the Sword," "The Set Up," "The Maddening" and "Dazzle." In 2011, she portrayed Princess Langwidere in the miniseries "The Witches of Oz." She shares one child with actor Jason Connery, to whom she was married from 1996 to 2002. In 2010, Mia wed puppeteer Brian Henson. The couple welcomed their first child together five years prior in 2005.
It's hard not to empathize with this character! In 1986's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Alan Ruck played Cameron Frye, Ferris's quiet and unconfident best friend who has a strained relationship with his father.
Just because Cameron Frye was his most notable character doesn't mean it was his only role! Alan Ruck went on to portray Stuart Bondek on ABC's "Spin City" (which also starred Michael J. Fox) from 1996 to 2002 and Henry Rance in 2016's "The Exorcist," in addition to appearing in films like "Young Guns II," "Speed," "Twister," "Carnage Park," "Sierra Burgess Is a Loser" and 2020's "Freaky." Since 2018, he's starred as Connor Roy on HBO's Golden Globe Award-winning dark comedy "Succession." From 1984 to 2005, he was married to Claudia Stefany, with whom he shares two children. In 2008, he wed actress Mireille Enos. He's since welcomed two more children.
Michael J. Fox starred in the 1985 coming-of-age comedy "Teen Wolf" as the titular teenager who finds out he's actually a werewolf! The film, which spawned an animated series and a supernatural teen drama series of the same name, was a box office hit — it earned $80 million on a $1.2 million budget.
Michael J. Fox has been in the biz since the early '70s but his career really took off in the '80s when he starred on NBC's "Family Ties" from 1982 to 1989. His fame continued to grow as he led ABC's "Spin City" from 1996 to 2000. (He won Emmys for his work on both shows.) Michael's most notable role, of course, was as Marty McFly in the "Back to the Future" movie trilogy. The actor, who went public with his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 1998, semi-retired from acting in 2000 and in 2020 retired full-time due to health complications. In 2000, he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's. The Canadian actor, who's also made guest appearances on shows like "Scrubs," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Designated Survivor," more recently earned three Emmy nominations for his recurring role as Louis Canning on CBS's "The Good Wife." In 1988, he married former "Family Ties" co-star Tracy Pollan, with whom he shares four children.
