Shailene Woodley Had No Idea Who Molly Ringwald Was onSecret Life of the American Teenager, Had Never Seen 'Any of Her Films'

Mar. 15, 2025

Molly Ringwald and Shailene Woodley in a promo photo for ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ in 2008.Photo:Bob D’Amico/ABC Family/Courtesy Everett

Bob D’Amico/ABC Family/Courtesy Everett

Shailene Woodleysays she learned a lot from her time onThe Secret Life of the American Teenager— including whoMolly Ringwaldwas.

The ’80s teen icon starred as Woodley’s character’s mother in the ABC Family drama, which aired from 2008 to 2013. But as Woodley, 32, reveals in the most recent edition ofVanity Fair’s “Scene Selection,” she wasn’t familiar with Ringwald’s work going into the series.

Molly Ringwald in ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ in 2010.Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

“Like, every one of my parents’ friends were like, ‘You’re working with Molly Ringwald!’ ” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘What is her … Why? I don’t get it.’ Because I had never seenBreakfast CluborSixteen Candlesor any of her films.”

While she may not have been familiar with any of theJohn Hughes filmsthat launched Ringwald to fame in the ’80s as part of theBrat Pack, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, according to Woodley.

Shailene Woodley in ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ in 2010.Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

“I got to know her as just this, like, beautiful older sister motherly 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 kiddo playing a kiddo,” she explained.

Ringwald’s experience as a teen star likely meant she understood what the young actress was going through at the time.

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“She protected me in that way,” Woodley said, “and I’m so thankful for that because there is a pressure for people to grow up very quickly, especially when it comes to Hollywood.”

Woodley added that she also learned a lot about storytelling and “the types of messages that I want to be putting into the world or maybe not putting into the world” working on the show.

“Secret Lifewas a great opportunity to learn those lessons at a very young age,” she said. “It was a fun journey and it was a great time, and I definitely learned a lot.”

source: people.com