In the 1980s, a group of young actors took over the film scene with successful teen coming-of-age films, earning them the nickname the “Brat Pack.” The nickname was inspired by the “Rat Pack” from the 1950s and 1960s. The “Rat Pack” included Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, and more, and the “Brat Pack” was expected to follow in their footsteps as they came of age. The “Brat Pack” were some of the biggest teen movie stars of the 1980s, and many of them are still big names in the industry.
Coming-of-age films ruled the 1980s, with strong contributions to the genre from writer-director John Hughes, including The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. These films made their actors big box office draws as audiences looked to the youth for the next great movie star. Occasionally, teen actors become prestigious movie stars, and audiences were banking on the “Brat Pack” to be next in line. Though it didn’t work out for everyone, they will forever be remembered as part of one of the most iconic groups of the 1980s.
Actor and filmmaker Emilio Esteves was born on May 12, 1962 in New York City to actors Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton. With his upbringing, Esteves wanted to forge his own path, using his father’s more ethnic birth name rather than Sheen as his younger brother Charlie did. In 1982 at 20 years old, Esteves made his feature film debut in the coming-of-age film Tex with Mat Dillion, Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly, and more.
From there, Esteves starred in a series of popular coming-of-age films, including The Outsiders, The Breakfast Club, and St. Elmo’s Fire, which solidified him as a member of the “Brat Pack.” During the 1980s, Estevez also made his directorial debut with Wisdom. After starring in Mighty Ducks in 1992, he mainly focused on directing. He returned to the Mighty Duck franchise in 2021 for the shortlived spinoff series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.
Actor Anthony Michael Hall was born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall in Boston on April 14, 1968. When he became an actor, there was already a Screen Actors Guild member going by Michael Hall, which led him to go by Anthony Michael Hall. In the 1980s, through films like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science, Hall became the industry’s most beloved geek, with him typecast in nice guy nerd roles.
Hall was the youngest member of the “Brat Pack.” He was just 14 when he had his breakthrough role in Six Pack and was only 22 when the 80s ended and the “Brat Pack” started to move on to different types of projects. In the 1990s, Hall tried to avoid playing the geeky characters he’d become known for, with 1990’s Edward Scissorhands being his only hit of the decade. From 2002 to 2007, he starred in The Dead Zone, and from 2019 to 2023, he had a recurring role in The Goldbergs.
Ally Sheedy was born in New York City on June 13, 1962, and started performing at an early age, dancing with the American Ballet Theatre at 6 years old. While she gave up dance to focus on acting, she had many talents, with She Was Nice to Mice, a book she wrote at 12, becoming a best-seller. In 1983, Sheedy made her feature film debut in Bad Boys and later starred in WarGames, Oxford Blues, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, and more.
Unfortunately, at the same time, Sheedy was struggling with drug abuse issues, an experience she later drew on for her role in 1998’s High Art, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award. From 2009 to 2013, she appeared in the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh season finales of Psych. In recent years, Ally Sheedy starred in Single Drunk Female, where she briefly reunited with fellow “Brat Pack” member Molly Ringwald before it was canceled in 2023.
American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host Rob Lowe, who was born on March 17, 1964, started his acting career on television, with his debut coming at 15 in the short-lived sitcom A New Kind of Family in 1979. Lowe’s feature film debut was The Outsiders, leading the talented ensemble as Sodapop Curtis. This performance, along with his roles in Class, Oxford Blues, St. Elmos Fire, and more solidified him as a member of the “Brat Pack” and as a teen idol.
Following early success in the 1980s, Lowe’s career was threatened when he was involved in a sex tape scandal in 1988. In the 2000s, Lowe was once again on an upward trajectory, this time back on television with roles in The West Wing, Brothers & Sisters, Parks & Recreation, and more. Since 2020, Lowe has starred in the successful 9-1-1 spinoff as Captain Owen Strand. 9-1-1: Lonestar season 5 is on the way, and he has other projects in the works.
Actor, travel writer, and TV director Andrew McCarthy was born on November 19, 1962 in New Jersey and started acting in plays as a student in high school and briefly in college. McCarthy made his feature film debut in 1983’s Class with fellow “Brat Pack” member Rob Lowe. He then appeared in Heaven Help Us, St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink, Mannequin, Weekend at Bernie’s, and more.
Beyond acting, McCarthy has been a travel writer and editor for National Geographic Traveler. In 2021, he released a memoir titled Brat: An ’80s Story, with the name inspired by the “Brat Pack.” McCarthy has become a successful television director, having directed multiple episodes of Gossip Girls, Orange Is the New Black, Good Girls, The Blacklist, and more. McCarthy recently starred in The Resident and his documentary on the “Brat Pack,” Brats, will premiere on Hulu on June 13.
American actress and producer Demi Moore, who was born on November 11, 1962, first made a name for herself on daytime television before becoming a member of the “Brat Pack” and a huge movie star. Moore had her breakthrough film performance in Blame It on Rio and subsequently starred in St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night…, One Crazy Summer, The Seventh Sign, and more. In 1990, she proved she was a bankable star when she starred in the highest-grossing film of the year, Ghost.
Moore is arguably the most successful “Brat Pack” member, at least financially. In 1996, she became the highest-paid actress in film history when she was paid $12.5 million for Striptease. After some high-budget commercial failures in the mid-to-late 1990s, her career experienced some bumps. Her performance in 2006’s Bobby, directed and written by Emilio Estevez, earned her multiple award nominations. She was most recently featured in the Feud: Capote vs. The Swans cast along with fellow “Brat Pack” member Molly Ringwood. Bobby and Feud are just a few examples of “Brat Pack” members working together beyond the 1980s.
American actor Judd Nelson was born on November 28, 1959 and is the oldest member of the “Brat Pack,” though Estevez has long been considered the group’s leader. His first major film role came in 1984’s Making the Grade, but it was Nelson’s performance as John Bender in The Breakfast Club that made him a star. Nelson also starred in the moviesSt. Elmo’s Fire, The Transformers: The Movie, Blue City, From the Hip, and Relentless in the 1980s.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, after some commercial failures, Nelson starred in Suddenly Susan for four seasons. In the 2000s, Nelson appeared in multiple TV movies. In 2017 and 2018, he revived his voice role as Rodimus Prime/Hot Rod in Transformers: Titans Return and Transformers: Power of the Primes. Nelson’s most recent film was 2022’s The Most Dangerous Game.
Molly Ringwald was born on February 18, 1968 and started her career as a child actress in sitcoms like Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. If Rob Lowe was the male teen idol of the “Brat Pack,” then Molly Ringwald was the group’s female teen idol. 1984’s Sixteen Candles wasn’t Ringwald’s first film, but it introduced her to John Hughes, whom she then made The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink with. Like Hall, she was often typecast as the pretty suburban girl everyone falls in love with.
In the 1990s, Ringwald escaped from this kind of typecasting when she moved to Paris and starred in several French films. As a fluent French speaker, she has also translated two books from French to English. Starting in the late 2000s, Ringwald successfully returned to television in mom roles in The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Riverdale. Most recently, she appeared in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Bear, and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Still, Molly Ringwald and her counterparts will forever be remembered as the “Brat Pack.”