On February 15, 1985, John Hughes introduced us to a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a jock. As “The Breakfast Club” turns 35, we take a look at the members of the Brat Pack to see where they are now.
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The princess of “The Breakfast Club” was a core member of the 1980s’ Brat Pack, appearing in multiple movies for writer/director John Hughes including “Pretty In Pink” and “Sixteen Candles”. Ringwald largely stepped back from the spotlight in the early 2000s before most notably returning to TV with a lead role in “The Secret Life Of The American Teenager”. Most recently, Ringwald has appeared on “Riverdale” as Mary Andrews.
In 2018, Ringwald wrote an essay for the New Yorker, looking back at “The Breakfast Club” in the #MeToo era. In it, she cited the problematic sexualization and harassment of Claire by John Bender.
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After reuniting with fellow Brat Packers Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy in the more adult “St. Elmo’s Fire”, Judd Nelson was a mainstay in made-for-TV movies until landing a lead role on “Suddenly Susan” with Brooke Shields. The actor has also lent his voice to several animated series including “Transformers”, "Phineas and Ferb", “Family Guy” and “Ben 10: Omniverse”. Most recently he appeared in the Eric Roberts’ movie “The Downside Of Bliss”.
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Emilio Estevez continued to appear in some of the 1980s’ and 1990s’ fan favourites including “The Mighty Ducks”, “Men At Work”, “Loaded Weapon” and the “Young Guns” movies. He made guest appearances with his dad, Martin Sheen, on “The West Wing” and with his brother, Charlie Sheen, in “Two And A Half Men”. But the actor seems to have found his true calling behind-the-camera, directing several TV series as well as “The War At Home”, “Bobby”, “The Way” and most-recently, “The Public”, all of which screened at TIFF. He again returned to the city for WE Day Toronto 2019.
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The “basket case” of the group, Ally Sheedy was a staple in 1980s’ movies like “Short Circuit” and “Maid To Order”. From there, she drifted into mostly made-for-TV movies, most-notably appearing in a few episodes of “Psych” and more-recently showing up in a cameo as a school teacher in “X-Men: Apocalypse” as a nod to her days as being cast as a rebellious teen in “The Breakfast Club” and “WarGames”.
Following the 2018 Golden Globes, Sheedy took to Twitter to share a cryptic tweet about James Franco: "James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business.” She later deleted the tweet with Franco telling Seth Meyers shortly thereafter, "I have no idea why [Sheedy] was upset. She took the tweet down. I don't know, I can't speak for her."
She most recently stepped out at the premiere of “Jagged Little Pill” on Broadway with Rosie O’Donnell.
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Following “The Breakfast Club”, the youngest member of the Brat Pack appeared in the cult classic “Weird Science” and as the villain in Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands”. After several seasons on “The Dead Zone” and roles in “War Machine”, “Live By Night” and “The Dark Knight”, Anthony Michael Hall faced some legal trouble in 2017 when he was sentenced to three years of probation and 40 hours of community service for assaulting his neighbour. He later reteamed with Molly Ringwald for a special “Breakfast Club”-inspired episode of “Riverdale”. In addition, he’ll next appear in the upcoming sequel “Halloween Kills” with Jamie Lee Curtis.
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Before his 2006 death from mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer linked to asbestos, Gleason appeared in guest roles on shows including “The Wonder Years”, “Seinfeld”, “Walker, Texas Ranger”, “Friends”, “Malcolm In The Middle” and “Dawson’s Creek”.
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As Carl the janitor in “The Breakfast Club”, London, Ontario’s John Kapelos has continued to act over the years, amassing nearly 200 film and TV roles. His more prominent credits include Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape Of Water” and multiple episodes of “Justified”, “Republic Of Doyle” and “Suits”. He’s can currently be seen on the new Netflix comedy “Medical Police”.
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Known for his coming-of-age stories and comedies of the 1980s and ‘90s, writer-director John Hughes died from a sudden heart attack in 2009. Following “The Breakfast Club”, Hughes was responsible for some of the era’s most-beloved movies including “Home Alone”, “Uncle Buck”, “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “The Great Outdoors”, “She’s Having A Baby” and “Beethoven”. While he continued to write and produce, his final film as director was 1991’s “Curly Sue”.