1980s Teenage Stars Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald were two of the biggest teenage stars in the 1980s. They starred in many movies together, most notably The Breakfast Club.
This is what they looked like in that movie, and this is what they look like 30 years ago, compared to now.
Ally, who is now 61, made her feature film debut in Bad Boys (1983) and came to prominence as a member of the Brat Pack with roles in Oxford Blues (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), and Blue City (1986). She received three Saturn Award nominations for Best Actress for her performances in WarGames (1983), Fear (1990), and Man’s Best Friend (1993). For playing a drug-addicted lesbian photographer in High Art (1998), Sheedy won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She also starred in the films Twice in a Lifetime (1985), Short Circuit (1986), Betsy’s Wedding (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), and Life During Wartime (2009), as well as the series Single Drunk Female (2022–2023).
Molly, who is 55, is an actress, writer, and translator. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life (both 1979–1980) before being nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the drama film Tempest (1982). Ringwald became a teen idol following her appearances in filmmaker John Hughes teen films: Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986). These films led to the media referring to her as a member of the “Brat Pack.” Her final teen roles were in For Keeps and Fresh Horses (both in 1988).
Following leading roles in King Lear (1987), The Pick-up Artist (1987), Strike It Rich (1990), and Betsy’s Wedding (1990), Ringwald moved to Paris and began acting in French films. In subsequent decades, Ringwald acted in the television shows The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013), Riverdale (2017–2023), Creepshow (2021), and Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022).