Molly Ringwald Admits She’s Not the ‘Patron Saint of Teenagers’ — & What a Way To Find Out

Molly Ringwald is known best for being a teen star. The actress dominated the silver screen in the mid-’80s, starring in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. And so it’s no wonder that on her recent appearance on The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon asked her if she feels like an expert on teenagers.

“You would think,” she replied. “I think that people ask me to be a part of any teenage project like I’m the ‘teen Buddha’ or something, ‘the patron saint of teenagers.’ And I have teenagers, too, and I thought that I would be sort of like the know-all [and there would be] no surprises.”

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But, of course, there were surprises. The mother of three told the story of her daughter 20-year-old Mathilda throwing “a rager of a party” when she was 16. Mathilda told her parents — who were going to an event upstate — that the party was starting at 8 or 9 p.m. In fact, it had started at 5 p.m., and by the time Ringwald and husband Panio Gianopoulos got back, there were 200 people at their house.

“I’m not kidding,” she said. “It was like you take any party from a movie I’ve been in and then you multiply it by like … three or 10 or whatever and yeah, that was it.”

Ok, wow. Jake Ryan’s rager in Sixteen Candles was pretty impressive, so this must have been truly epic. The Secret Life of the American Teenager actress did not mention if a mean girl’s hair got cut out of a closed door or if a geek got trapped under a glass coffee table at the party. She wouldn’t have known because she and Gianopoulos went upstairs, trying their best to be “cool parents” and let Mathilda “do her thing.”

But then the police arrived.

Party’s Over

“And my daughter — who evidently has seen too many Law & Orders — told the police that they couldn’t come in without a warrant,” Ringwald said.

Unfortunately for Mathilda, they could come in and did come in and ultimately sent everyone home.

“You would’ve thought I’d have been prepared for that, but no,” Ringwald said.

OK, so maybe she’s not an all-seeing patron saint of teenagers, but she’s a pretty cool mom for letting the party run its course.

Ringwald also shares 14-year-old twins Adele and Roman with Gianopoulos, and now we have to wonder if there will be another rager that becomes “town lore” in two years. Or will their big day be forgotten … à la Samantha Baker?

These celebrity parents are sharing the struggle — and sweetness — of raising teenagers.

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