Molly Ringwald is preparing for a major milestone as a mom and revealed her teenage twins are getting ready for the next big chapter in their lives
Speaking in an exclusive interview with People, the 1980s icon opened up about guiding her youngest children through the high-stakes college admissions process and admitted despite the whirlwind journey, her teens are tackling the future head-on.
Family life for Molly and her husband
The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink star, 58, shares 17-year-old twins Adele and Roman with her writer and editor husband, Panio Gianopoulos. The pair are also parents to their daughter Mathilda, 23, who is already attending college.
© FilmMagicTheir twins are in their junior year of high school, and Molly confessed that campus visits, tests and application prep have officially taken over their household routine.
"I went through it with my eldest, who is still in college, and the other two are now getting ready to do visits and SATs and all of that stuff," she said.
While it's a tricky phase, Molly praised their dedication to their education: "They're really good students, and they take it really seriously," she noted, before adding: "And I think they're excited about their futures. I know I am."
It's a surreal moment for the proud mom
© Getty ImagesMolly defined teenage adolescence in her coming-of-age movies, and she acknowledges how surreal the feeling of watching her children navigate high school is.
"I am definitely, I think, the poster child for Gen X, and I think most people who are Gen X came of age in the '80s, which I definitely did," Molly reflected.
She also noted how the academic and social pressures have evolved for children today.
"High school is really hard, and it really seems like a lot of it hasn't changed," she explained. "A lot of it has changed, but there are certain things that have not changed at all."
Do her children watch her films?
© Getty ImagesSpeaking to Radio Andy in 2021, Molly explained that she’s hesitant to show her movies to her younger children. She described Adele as “the most woke individual that you’ve ever met. I just don’t know how I’m gonna go through that, you know, watching [my films] with her.”
Fame from an early age
© Getty ImagesMolly became synonymous with 1980s coming-of-age classics like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, but she wants a different path for her kids.
During an interview with Marc Macron on his podcast WTF in 2024, Molly discussed being "taken advantage of" on set. She said: "It can be harrowing. 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. And it’s hard."
The actress has since starred in teen rom-com The Kissing Booth, Netflix’s Riverdale and acclaimed TV drama The Bear.
