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Shailene Woodley Had No Idea Who TV Mom Molly Ringwald Was
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Shailene Woodley Had No Idea Who TV Mom Molly Ringwald Was

Andie Walsh, who?

During a recent appearance on Vanity Fair’s “Selection of Scenes”“, Shailene Woodley, 32, admitted she didn’t know who Molly Ringwald was back when Ringwald played her mother on TV.

“I didn’t know who Molly Ringwald was,” the “Big Little Lies” actress said of the ’80s teen movie icon.

“I was 15 and I didn’t grow up with a TV. For example, all of my parents’ friends were like, “You work with Molly Ringwald!” And I was like, “What is she…” Why? I don’t understand. Because I had never seen “The Breakfast Club,” “Sixteen Candles,” or any of his films.

Molly Ringwald with Shailene Woodley. WireImage
Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald in “Sixteen Candles.”
Molly Ringwald and Shailene Woodley on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” ©ABC Family/courtesy Everett Collection

Woodley played Ringwald’s daughter on television’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” which aired on ABC Family between 2008 and 2013 (ABC Family has since been renamed Freeform).

On the show, Ringwald, 56, played Anne Juergens, the mother of Amy Juergens (Woodley), a teenager who became pregnant after having sex at band camp with playboy Ricky Underwood (Daren Kagasoff). Amy quickly became involved with Ben (Ken Baumann, the son of a sausage tycoon).

The series wasn’t Woodley’s first role, as she also appeared on shows such as “The OC,” but it was her first starring role in a series.

After “Secret Life,” Woodley played larger roles in the popular teen drama “The Fault in Our Stars” and the “Hunger Games” knockoff series “Divergent.”

Ringwald continued to give advice from her teen icon days by playing a mother on another teen show, “Riverdale.” But, She refused to appear on ‘Brats’ the recent Hulu documentary on the Brat Pack.

Shailene Woodley and Molly Ringwald on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” ©ABC Family/Courtesy Everett Col
Shailene Woodley and Molly Ringwald on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” ©ABC Family/courtesy Everett Collection
Molly Ringwald attends the 2024 CFDA Awards at the American Museum of Natural History on October 28, 2024. Getty Images

Woodley said his ignorance about Ringwald wasn’t that bad.

“I got to know her as this beautiful older sister mother figure to me, who was really protective of honoring, like, my authenticity as a young person and who I was and just being, like, a kid playing a kid . said Woodley.

Woodley, who was previously engaged to NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, added of Ringwald: “She protected me in that way and I’m very grateful for that because there’s a pressure for people to grow up very quickly, especially when it comes to Hollywood.”

Woodley “learned a lot” working on this show from a young age, including “the types of messages I want to put into the world or maybe not put into the world.”