Molly Ringwald is known for iconic ’80s coming-of-age films including The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, written and directed by the late John Hughes.
Now Ringwald, 57, has spoken about how Hughes wrote Sixteen Candles based off seeing a headshot of her provided by an agency, and what it was like being his ”muse” in her teenage years.
In the latest episode of Monica Lewinsky’s podcast, called Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, she spoke about her working relationship with Hughes over the years.
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“When it came time to cast [Sixteen Candles], they said, ‘Who do you want?’ and he said, ‘the girl that I wrote this about’. We met and the rest is history.”
“In terms of, did I know that I was a ‘muse,’ he told me that story, but when you’re that age, I had nothing really to compare it to.”
Ringwald admitted that when she was 15, she “didn’t have a lot of life experience” despite her acting career.
“It didn’t seem that strange to me [that she was Hughes’ ‘muse’]. Now, it does.”
“Like strange still complimentary, or strange, weird or creepy in any way?” Lewinsky said with a laugh.
“It’s peculiar. It’s complimentary. It always felt incredibly complimentary, but yeah, looking back on it, there is something a little peculiar,” Ringwald said.
“It’s complex, definitely complex. It’s something that I turn over in my head a lot and try to figure out, how that all affected me.
“I feel like I’m still processing all of that and I probably will until the day I die.”
The actress also starred in Pretty in Pink, another creation of Hughes’.
He was also behind iconic films including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and wrote the screenplay for National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Why Molly Ringwald won’t watch Breakfast Club
Hughest died in 2009 following a heart attack.
Ringwald’s comments come after she admitted to The Guardian that she can’t watch The Breakfast Club with one of her daughters as she’s “very liberal”.
“She’s very liberal. I mean, I’m very liberal, but she’s another level. Which she should be, and I’m glad,” she said.
She added about finding international fame as a teen: “I didn’t feel comfortable with that level of stardom.”
