‘The Breakfast Club’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy and More

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‘The Breakfast Club’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy and More

It all started with a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. In 1985, the world was introduced to five teenagers with very different backgrounds who found themselves spending nine hours on a Saturday in detention. The success of The Breakfast Club helped make stars out of the so-called Brat Pack — Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson — and critics consider the teen drama to be one of director John Hughes’ best. The movie centers on Brian Johnson (Hall), Andrew Clark (Estevez), Allison Reynolds (Sheedy), Claire Standish (Ringwald) and John Bender (Nelson) as they gather in the library of the fictional Shermer High School to serve detention from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, 1984. Their tyrannical assistant principal, Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason), assigns each member of the group to write a 1,000-word essay describing “who you think you are.” He also instructs the students not to speak, leave their seats or sleep until they are released — all while regularly checking in on them. [jwplayer SB7izwoo-zhNYySv2] Over the course of the 97-minute film, Brian, Andrew, Allison, Claire and John bicker, share their darkest secrets, smoke a little marijuana and ultimately become unlikely friends. In the end, they submit a single essay to the assistant principal, signed, “Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.” The movie reunited Hall and Ringwald, who previously starred in Hughes’ 1984 classic Sixteen Candles. Although The Breakfast Club was not nominated for any major awards at the time, it is widely regarded as one of the most iconic films in history. One year after the dramedy celebrated its 30th anniversary, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, joining the likes of game-changers including Titanic, Toy Story, The Lion King, Forrest Gump, Schindler’s List, A League of Their Own, Goodfellas, Top Gun, Purple Rain, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Shining, Star Wars and Jaws. Speaking about the film's 30th anniversary in March 2015, Sheedy said that she "loved" the script when she first read it, but she was still surprised by how much of a phenomenon the movie became. "I had a feeling that it was something special, but I didn't know it was going to be as wonderful as it was when it was all put together," she told Elle at the time. "And I didn't know it would be such an enormous success." Keep scrolling to see what the cast of The Breakfast Club has been doing since the film's release:

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Anthony Michael Hall

After The Breakfast Club, Hall took on a number of diverse roles in order to avoid being typecast as a geek. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1985 at the age of 17 and starred opposite his SNL costar Robert Downey Jr. in 1988’s Johnny Be Good. He also starred in 1990’s Edward Scissorhands and 1993’s Six Degrees of Separation as well as the TV adaptation of The Dead Zone in the 2000s. In 2021, he appeared in Halloween Kills alongside fellow former child star Kyle Richards. 

Hall made headlines in 2016 after being charged with assaulting his neighbor. He was subsequently sentenced to three years of probation.

The Massachusetts native married actress Lucia Oskerova in 2020. The couple announced in February 2023 that they are expecting their first child. 

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Emilio Estevez

On the heels of his leading roles in 1983’s The Outsiders and The Breakfast Club, Estevez starred in 1985’s St. Elmo’s Fire, 1988’s Young Guns and 1992’s The Mighty Ducks. He has also directed a number of movies and TV shows, including 1986’s Wisdom and 2006’s Bobby. He directed his brother Charlie Sheen in 1990’s Men at Work and made a guest appearance on Charlie’s show Two and a Half Men in 2008. In 2021, Estevez appeared in a Disney+ revival of The Mighty Ducks called The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, but he left the show after one season. 

Estevez was married to Paula Abdul from 1992 to 1994. He shares son Taylor and daughter Paloma with his ex-girlfriend Carey Salley.

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Ally Sheedy

Sheedy starred opposite her Breakfast Club costars Estevez and Hall in St. Elmo’s Fire and a 2003 episode of The Dead Zone, respectively. She also had roles in 1986’s Short Circuit and 1998’s High Art, in addition to the 1999 off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. More recently, she had parts in episodes of CSI, Kyle XY and Psych. In 2022, Sheedy returned to TV in the Freeform series Single Drunk Female. 

Sheedy was married to actor David Lansbury from 1992 to 2008. They share a son, Beckett.

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Molly Ringwald

Ringwald, who starred in The Facts of Life prior to The Breakfast Club, is best known for her work with Hughes. She also starred in his movies Sixteen Candles and 1986’s Pretty in Pink. After taking a break from the spotlight, she had recurring roles in The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Riverdale. In 2022, she appeared in Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

Ringwald was married to writer Valery Lameignère from 1999 to 2002. She then wed another writer, Panio Gianopoulos, in 2007, and they have three children: daughter Mathilda and twins Adele and Roman.

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Judd Nelson

Like Estevez and Sheedy, Nelson went on to star in St. Elmo’s Fire after finding fame as a member of the Brat Pack. He worked with Sheedy a third time in 1986’s Blue City before having a standout performance in 1987’s Billionaire Boys Club. Since the 2000s, Nelson has starred in a slew of hit TV shows such as CSI, Psych, Suddenly Susan and Empire.

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Paul Gleason

Although Gleason was best known for playing Dr. David Thornton on All My Children in the late 1970s, The Breakfast Club remains one of his most recognized credits. He also starred in 1988’s Die Hard and 1993’s Trading Places as well as several episodes of Boy Meets World, Dawson’s Creek and Drake & Josh.

Gleason was married to actress Candy Moore from 1971 to 1978, and they had a daughter named Shannon. He was later married to Susan Kehl, with whom he shared daughter Kaitlin, from 1995 until his death at age 67 in 2006 from mesothelioma.