Molly Ringwald says she was ‘taken advantage of’ by ‘predators’ as young Hollywood actress

Molly Ringwald has reflected on her early years in Hollywood and why the film and TV industry can be ‘harrowing’

The Breakfast Club star Molly Ringwald has opened up about what it was like being a young actress in the film and tv industry.

Ringwald first began acting at the age of five, appearing in stage productions before landing a role in TV at the age of just 11, being thrust into Hollywood through her starring role in 1984’s Sixteen Candles at the age of 16.

Ringwald was later cast in the iconic The Breakfast Club and later in Pretty in Pink – all while still a teenager.

And she’s since opened up about her experience of the world of TV and film in the earlier stage of her career, particularly what it was like as a woman and entering the industry at such a young age.

In an interview with Mark Maron on episode 1542 of his podcast which was first aired on May 27, Ringwald reflects she didn’t realise ‘everything was going to happen that fast’ and ‘explode’ after Sixteen Candles.

“I didn’t know that my life was going to change,” she says. “But it definitely did.”

However, being in Hollywood so young wasn’t a wholly positive experience for the actor.

Molly Ringwald starred in ‘The Breakfast Club’ (Universal Pictures)

Ringwald reveals she ‘never really felt like [she] was part of a community when [she] was in Hollywood’.

The actor explains that she was a ‘shy, introverted person’ when she entered the scene and ‘wasn’t into going out to clubs,’ ultimately resolving she was ‘just too young’.

And another factor was the people she was surrounded by too, Ringwald saying she was ‘taken advantage of’.

She adds: “You can’t be a young actress in Hollywood and not have predators around.

“[…] I was definitely in questionable situations, but I do have an incredible survival instinct […] and managed to sort of figure out a way to protect myself, but it can be harrowing.”

Ringwald says there were ‘lots of predators’ around when she was a young actor in Hollywood (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)

Ringwald continued: “I have a 20-year-old daughter going into the same profession, even though I did everything i could to convince her to do something else. And it’s hard.”

She added her parents ‘didn’t really know exactly what [they] were getting into’ when she first became involved in Hollywood.

At around 24 years old, Ringwald later moved to France ‘on a movie’ and was meant to come back, but ‘fell in love with France’ and decided to stay ‘just to live’ after feeling like she’d ‘been working for a long time’.

“I feel like I really needed to get out of America. […] I’d been working so long I didn’t really have any experience of not being a person always looked at.

“[…] I felt like I needed to know what it felt like to not be that girl.”

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.