What happened to Molly Ringwald? Details about why she left Hollywood

Molly Ringwald was one of the most popular actors in Hollywood during her teen days. She enjoyed a massive fan following from all over the world for her roles in several hit movies during the 1980s and 1990s. However, as her career started to reach new heights, Molly Ringwald decided to leave Hollywood. A lot of people are still wondering about what happened to Molly Ringwald and why did she leave Hollywood. 

What happened to Molly Ringwald?

The 53-year-old actor took the decision to quit Hollywood due to a traumatizing experience. She was sexually exploited during an audition which made her rethink her career in Hollywood. In a 2017 article for The New Yorker, Molly recalled her experience of that audition. She shared that she was blindsided during an audition. She was asked by the director in a rhetorical manner to let the lead actor put a dog collar around her neck. She revealed that this was not remotely in the pages that she had studied and she could not fathom how that made sense in the story. She further added that the actor who was asked to do this was a friend of hers and she looked into his eyes with panic. The actor looked back at her with sorry expressions on his face while he reached out towards her neck.

Molly Ringwald continued to talk about the horrific experience and shared that she does not know if the collar ever made it on her because that was the closest that she ever came to an out of body experience. She thinks that she just walked out but it is more than likely that there is an old VHS tape disintegrating in a drawer somewhere where she is trying to remember her lines with a dog collar around her neck in front of a young man on whom she once had a crush on. Molly Ringwald revealed that she sobbed in the parking lot. When she got home, Molly Ringwald called her agent to tell him what had happened. The agent just laughed and said that this experience will be one for the memoirs. Molly Ringwald then fired him and moved to Paris after this incident.

Molly Ringwald quits Hollywood

A report by cheatsheet.com mentioned that Molly Ringwald moved to Paris leaving Hollywood behind to lead an ordinary life. She also wanted to discover what life outside the spotlight felt like as she could walk around the city without being recognised. After several years, Molly Ringwald made a return to acting with shows like the Secret Life of The American Teenager which aired in 2008 and Riverdale.

Molly Ringwald's movies

Molly Ringwald was enjoying success in her twenties as she had appeared in several popular movies. The actor took a decision to quit Hollywood for several years because of this unsettling incident. Molly Ringwald became a household name after her collaborations with late filmmaker John Hughes. She became a teen sensation after appearing in movies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink among others. The report added that Hughes wrote the entire screenplay of Sixteen Candles keeping Ringwald in mind and that too before even meeting her in person. Some of the popular Molly Ringwald's movies are The Kissing Booth movies, Not Another Teen Movie, The Stand, Townies among others.

Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club

Image: Molly Ringwald's Instagram