'Pretty' at every age
Actress-turned-author Molly Ringwald offers insights into ‘Getting the Pretty Back’
By Carl Kozlowski 07/22/2010
An iconic big-screen presence since starring in a string of classic 1980s high school movies, Molly Ringwald has spent most of her life in the public eye. Yet, even as she’s moved well beyond her breakthrough in 1984’s “Sixteen Candles” to become a real-life mom and working actress facing down her 40s, Ringwald has learned plenty about keeping a positive attitude about all the changes life brings.
With her debut book, “Getting the Pretty Back,” Ringwald — whose biggest film success was 1986’s “Pretty in Pink” — mixes a witty flair with personal anecdotes and advice on everything from fashion to parenting. Yet in a refreshing twist on other celebrity “advice” books and memoirs, Ringwald has made a real effort to keep things practical and accessible for her Everywoman fans to follow.
“I think that one of the advantages to the career that I have is that so many people feel like they’ve grown up with me, and in a lot of ways they did, because the films I made in the ’80s are a rite of passage for people,” says Ringwald. “They’re a touchstone. I kept that in mind in writing the book, so I wanted it to be like talking with a girlfriend. Even though I’m an actor and my life is different than a lot of people, they’d be surprised by how similar it is. When I talk about shopping on eBay and Craigslist and vintage clothing … that’s my life.”
Ringwald had been writing columns and essays for magazines for years, but “Getting the Pretty Back” marks the first time she has set out to complete an entire book. The fact that her husband is a book editor and an author was a big boost to her, both in terms of encouragement and in regards to having ready access to professional feedback throughout the process.
“I think the most fun to write was the narrative, the memoir aspects, talking about my childhood, my friends and family. Anything story related, all of that came easily to me, I think I’m a natural storyteller,” says Ringwald. “The stuff I think was hardest to write was straight out advice, I wanted to get the tone right and not sound preachy or too opinionated. It’s really just my opinion. I’m certainly not an expert. And the entire time I was writing the book, I was pregnant with twins.”
Indeed, Ringwald had twins last July. She already had a daughter who’s now 6. That experience with motherhood has proven a boon to her acting career revival of the past three years, during which time she has played the mother of a pregnant teen-turned-single-mom in the ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”
The series has drawn acclaim — and occasional bursts of controversy — for its frank depiction of a middle-class girl and the impact her child has on her family. But Ringwald, who played a pregnant teenager herself in the underrated 1988 gem “For Keeps,” feels that the show has important insights to share.
“It seems appropriate to me, even though my kids are younger than the kids on the television show,” says Ringwald, who notes that many of her ’80s fans now write her about the current show. “I don’t have anything to do with the writing. But I think any show that offers that up for discussion in the family is a good thing, and I like the fact it’s a show that kids can watch with their parents and discuss those issues. I think communication is always a key thing for families to be healthy and happy.”
Ultimately, Ringwald believes that while definitions of beauty can change and fade over time, being “pretty” is a quality that women of any age can maintain.
“When I talk about ‘pretty’ in my book, I’m really talking about a state of mind more than anything physical,” says Ringwald. “Usually people think of something lighter or more insignificant. I really talk about it as something that’s a feeling, and very associated with youth. I like to talk about it in terms of reclaiming it, because it seems to me that women are not allowed to be pretty. After a certain age, it’s not a word women are allowed to think of. The theme of my book was reclaiming the idea of pretty for any age.”
Molly Ringwald will discuss and sign “Getting the Pretty Back” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 449-5320 or visit vromans.com.
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Way back when I was a temporally brain damaged younger old guy, I probably would have taken up some Jyrhead's bet and drank a glass of Molly's bathwater.
Probably would'a tasted good too.
DanD