Molly Ringwald (Molly Parker)
In the first season of "The Facts of Life," there were seven girls living in the Eastland dorm, including a young redhead named Molly. The part was played by 11-year-old Molly Ringwald, whose first TV gig was on the sitcom "Diff'rent Stokes." She reprised the role in the spinoff "Facts of Life." Perhaps luckily for the actress, the producers decided there were too many girls to focus on, and in Season 2, they let ...
more Molly Ringwald (Molly Parker)
In the first season of "The Facts of Life," there were seven girls living in the Eastland dorm, including a young redhead named Molly. The part was played by 11-year-old Molly Ringwald, whose first TV gig was on the sitcom "Diff'rent Stokes." She reprised the role in the spinoff "Facts of Life." Perhaps luckily for the actress, the producers decided there were too many girls to focus on, and in Season 2, they let Molly and some of the other girls go. Just four years later, she rose to fame as Samantha Baker in "Sixteen Candles," followed by "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink." After her John Hughes teen-movie streak came to an end, Ringwald starred in "The Pick-Up Artist," "For Keeps," and "Betsy's Wedding."
After struggling to find her footing as an adult actress, Ringwald retreated to France where she made foreign films. She occasionally acted in U.S. productions, including a return to her TV roots in the 1994 miniseries "The Stand" and a short-lived sitcom called "Townies." Mixed among her TV movies and guest spots on numerous shows, Ringwald also graced the stage in musicals like "Cabaret" and "Sweet Charity."
Since 2008, Ringwald has been playing mom to a new generation on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." She has also written two books -- "Getting the Pretty Back," published in 2010, and the recently released "When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories."
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