The ‘Pretty in Pink’ star opened up about her experience in a recent podcast.
Molly Ringwald has opened up about the challenges she faced as a young actress in Hollywood in the 1980s.
Ringwald started off as a child star with her first big break coming at the age of 14, in the 1982 drama Tempest.
She went on to star in several of John Hughes’ big blockbusters, including Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.
Speaking on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast on Monday, the 56-year-old revealed she was “taken advantage of” despite her “shy, introverted” nature.
“I never really felt like I was part of a community when I was in Hollywood, just because I was so young, really. I wasn’t into going out to clubs. I feel like I’m more social now than I was then. I was just too young,” shared Ringwald on the podcast.
Reflecting on her career, the The Breakfast Club star said, “You can’t be a young actress in Hollywood and not have predators around.”
Although she was “definitely in questionable situations,” Ringwald counted on her “survival instinct” to “protect” herself.
She’s been very open in the past about specific scenes in some of her movies, such as from 1984’s Sixteen Candles.
Her character’s crush Jake Ryan, played by Michael Schoeffling, suggests taking advantage of his girlfriend while she’s passed out at a party.
“Times were different and what was acceptable then is definitely not acceptable now… but that’s sort of the way that it was,” she said.
Ringwald explained that although she didn’t necessarily agree with this scene, she didn’t want “to appear ungrateful” to acclaimed director John Hughes.
She also opened up about her fears surrounding her daughter’s exposure to Hollywood and pursuit of a career in the industry.
“I have a 20-year-old daughter now who is going into the same profession, even though I did everything I could to convince her to do something else,” she said. “And it’s hard.”
Ringwald’s daughter, Mathilda Gianopoulos, recently appeared in The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine.
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