Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an orphan in a stage production of the musical Annie. She and several other members of the original Facts of Life cast were let go when the show was reworked by the network. She subsequently made her motion-picture debut as Miranda in the independent film Tempest (1982), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. Ringwald is primarily known for her collaborations with filmmaker John Hughes. She established herself as a teen icon after appearing in the successful Hughes films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986). She later starred in The Pick-up Artist (1987), Fresh Horses (1988), and For Keeps (1988). She starred in many films in the 1990s, most notably Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story (1992), The Stand (1994), and Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1994 short film – precursor to Sling Blade). Ringwald had regular roles on the television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008 - 2013) as Anne Juergens, Riverdale(2017 - 2023) as Mary Andrews, and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024) as Joanne Carson. She is also recognized by younger audiences for her role as Sara Flynn in The Kissing Booth movies. Ringwald was part of the "Brat Pack", and she was ranked number one on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars.

Filmography

• 2026One Night Only — Linda
• 2026Run Amok — Aunt Val
• 2025Montauk — Wolcott
• 2023Bad Things — Miss Auerbach
• 2023Catherine & Michael — Naomi
• 2023Pursued — Carol
• 2022A Brief History of Us — Narrator (voice)
• DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — Shari Dahmer
• Single Drunk Female — Alice
• The Bear — Moderator
• HouseBroken — Milly (voice)
• 2021The Kissing Booth 3 — Mrs. Flynn
• 2020The Kissing Booth 2 — Mrs. Flynn
• 2019All These Small Moments — Carla Sheffield
• Creepshow — Mrs. Porter (segment "Sibling Rivalry")
• Tales of the City — Claire's Mother
• 2018Siberia — Gabby
• 2018The Kissing Booth — Mrs. Flynn
• FEUD — Joanne Carson
• Riverdale — Mary Andrews
• 2017SPF-18 — Linda Sanders
• 2016King Cobra — Amy
• Raising Expectations — Paige Wayney
• 2015Bad Night — The Collector
• 2015Jem and the Holograms — Aunt Bailey
• Odd Mom Out — Joy Greene
• 2014Me — Pepper Folly
• Rainbow Brite — Dark Princess
• 2014Wishin' and Hopin' — Madame Frechette
• Doc McStuffins — Darla (voice)
• 2008Sincerely Yours — Claire Standish (archive footage) (uncredited)
• The Secret Life of the American Teenager — Anne Juergens
• 2006Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front — Helen McIntire
• Psych — McElroy
• Rachael Ray
• 2006The Wives He Forgot — Charlotte Saint John
• Medium — Kathleen Walsh
• 2002Cowboy Up — Connie
• 2002In the Darkness of Time — (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2002The Big Time — Marion Powers
• 2001Not Another Teen Movie — Flight Attendant
• 2000Cut — Vanessa Turnbill / Chloe
• 2000In the Weeds — Chloe
• The $treet — Devyn Alden
• 2000The Giving Tree — Penelope
• 1999Kimberly — Nancy
• 1999Requiem for Murder — Anne Winslow
• 1999Teaching Mrs. Tingle — Miss Banks
• 1998Since You've Been Gone — Claire the Fan
• 1998Titey — Anne Frank (voice)
• 1998Twice Upon a Time — Beth Sager
• 1997Office Killer — Kim Poole
• 1996Baja — Bebe Stone
• 1996Enfants de salaud — Susan
• Remember WENN — Angela Colton
• Townies — Carrie Donovan
• 1995Malicious — Melissa Nelson
• 1995Seven Sundays — Janet Gifford
• The Outer Limits — Allison Channing
• 1994Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade — Teresa Tatum
• The Stand — Frannie Goldsmith
• 1993Face the Music — Lisa Hunter
• 1992Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story — Alison Gertz
• 1990Betsy's Wedding — Betsy Hopper
• 1990Strike It Rich — Cary
• 1990Women and Men: Stories of Seduction — Kit (segment "Dusk Before Fireworks")
• 1988For Keeps — Darcy Elliot Bobrucz
• 1988Fresh Horses — Jewel
• 1988King Lear — Cordelia
• 1987P.K. and the Kid — P.K. Bayette
• 1987The Pick-up Artist — Randy Jensen
• 1986Johnny Appleseed — Jenny Smith
• 1986Pretty in Pink — Andie Walsh
• 1985Surviving — Lonnie
• Tall Tales & Legends — Jenny Smith
• 1985The Breakfast Club — Claire Standish
• 1984Sixteen Candles — Samantha Baker
• 1983Packin' It In — Melissa Webber
• 1983Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone — Nikki
• 1982Tempest — Miranda
• The Facts of Life — Molly Parker
• Diff'rent Strokes — Molly Parker
• Saturday Night Live — Anne Frank (voice)
• Columbarium
• Crazy Sunshine: The Mess We Made
• Puff and the Incredible Mr. Nobody — Creator
• Saturday TV Funhouse — Anne Frank (voice)
• The Stand

Appearances as themselves (25)

• 2025Everybody Wants to Be Gen X — Self
• 2025Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible — Self
• 2025The New Yorker at 100 — Self
• 2024BRATS — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2023Judy Blume Forever — Self
• 2018Always at The Carlyle — Self
• Drop the Mic — Self
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self
• 2014Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films — Self - Actress
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self - Guest
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self
• 2011More Business of Being Born — Self [Part 3]
• The Talk — Self
• 2010Wax On, Fuck Off — Self
• Who Do You Think You Are? — Self
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen — Self - Guest
• 2006Life After Tomorrow — Self (archive footage)
• The Megan Mullally Show — Self - Guest
• The Tony Danza Show — Self - Guest
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self
• The View — Self - Guest
• The Daily Show — Self - Guest, Self (voice)
• Intimate Portrait — Self
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien — Self - Guest
• 1986Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary — Self