‘The Secret Life’ of Molly Ringwald

It’s been 24 years since Molly Ringwald roamed the halls of Shermer High School with her former Brat Packers. These days the freckle faced redhead that writer/director John Hughes made famous in the beloved coming-of-age teen movies ‘Sixteen Candles’, ‘Pretty in Pink’ and ‘The Breakfast Club’ is all-growed-up but still can’t escape the black hole of teen angst. 

Ringwald is in her second season (Season One was split into two parts) of the critically acclaimed ABC Family TV drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager, playing Anne Juergens, a 41-year-old mother of teen daughter Amy (Shailene Woodley) who must deal with the roller coaster life of high school and consequences of childbirth. This season began with Anne revealing a big secret of her own – she’s pregnant. But who is the father?

Ringwald, whose real-life pregnancy was written into the show, admits it’s weird to be playing the mom of a teenager at age 41. “I’m in a project with teenagers and I’m not the teenager, so I’ve come full circle in a way” says Ringwald.

“There are elements of me in Anne, and I definitely made her more liberal, because it’s really important to me that both sides are represented” Ringwald told AOL.

Created by Brenda Hampton (7th Heaven) the show’s message is about as subtle as a sledge hammer “Teen pregnancy is one hundred percent preventable,” but is well balanced with making the romantic entanglements of adulthood interesting to the teen target audience. John Hughes made it look sooo easy.

New episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager air on ABC Family Monday 8/7c.