Portrait of Molly Ringwald

Birthday profile

Molly Ringwald

Molly Ringwald, American actress

Born
February 18, 1968
Age in 2026
58
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1968

About Molly Ringwald

Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American 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 Award for her starring role in the drama film Tempest (1982). Ringwald became a teen idol following her lead roles in filmmaker John Hughes's teenage 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 a group of actors known as the "Brat Pack." Ringwald's final starring roles as a teenager were in The Pick-up Artist (1987), For Keeps (1988), and Fresh Horses (1988). In the 1990s, she starred in the films Betsy's Wedding (1990) and Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), as well as starring in multiple French films after a move to Paris. Ringwald also returned to television, with main roles as Frannie Goldsmith in the ABC miniseries The Stand (1994) and Carrie Donovan on the ABC sitcom Townies (1996). In the 2000s, she had a main role as Anne Juergens on the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013). In the 2010s, Ringwald had starring roles in the films Jem and the Holograms (2015), and Siberia (2018), and a main role as Paige Wayney on the Family Channel television series Raising Expectations (2016–2018). In the late 2010s and 2020s, she experienced a career resurgence with a recurring role as Mary Andrews on the CW series Riverdale (2017–2023), and a starring role in The Kissing Booth film series (2018–2021). Ringwald later had main roles as Shari Dahmer on the first season of the Netflix biographical anthology series Monster (2022) and Joanne Carson on the second season of the FX biographical anthology series Feud (2024). She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life before being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her starring role in the drama film Tempest (1982).

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Molly Ringwald timeline

  1. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life before being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her starring role in the drama film Tempest (1982).
  2. Ringwald became a teen idol following her lead roles in filmmaker John Hughes's teenage films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986).
  3. Ringwald later had main roles as Shari Dahmer on the first season of the Netflix biographical anthology series Monster (2022) and Joanne Carson on the second season of the FX biographical anthology series Feud (2024).

The world when Molly Ringwald was born

Molly Ringwald was born in 1968. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1968

  • #1 song"Hey Jude" – The Beatles
  • Top movie2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Top TV showRowan & Martin's Laugh-In
  • Best-selling bookAirport – Arthur Hailey

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBob Beamon shatters long jump record at Mexico City Olympics
  • Top headlineMLK and RFK assassinated
  • Technology milestoneDouglas Engelbart demonstrates the computer mouse
  • Defining fadTie-dye everything
  • Notable inventionComputer mouse (Douglas Engelbart)
  • World population3.55 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderLyndon B. Johnson
  • Sports championDetroit Tigers (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population200.7M

1968 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Molly Ringwald's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19682026
Gas$0.34$3.45/gal
Average home$15,600$435,000
Average income$10,300$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.31$11.95
Postage stamp$0.06$0.73
Population200.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.