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The Breakfast Club: Where are they now?

Seen as one of the greatest high school films of all time, 'The Breakfast Club' is also the definitive 'Brat Pack' movie. We took a look at what happened to the film's stars after they were let out of that famous school detention.
 
Molly Ringwald
The queen of '80s high school rom-coms, Ringwald was a huge star thanks to her role in the 1984 classic as well as 'Sixteen Candles' and 'Pretty in Pink'. But, just as it looked like there was no stopping her, the '90s happened. Turning down the lead parts in 'Pretty Woman' and 'Ghost' didn't help, and she moved to France for four years, appearing in a number of French films.

On her return to the US, roles on stage and on the small screen followed, with notable TV credits including 'The Stand' and 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager' — which she is still starring in. Her last big screen appearance was 'Not Another Teen Movie' way back in 2001.

Emilio Estevez
The son of Martin Sheen and brother of Charlie, Emilio Estevez played The Jock in the John Hughes favourite. Following the success of the film, Estevez carved out a big screen career in the '80s and '90s, starring in hit films like 'St. Elmo's Fire', 'Repo Man' and the 'Young Guns', 'Stakeout' and 'The Mighty Duck' franchises. He also made a brief appearance in 1996's 'Mission: Impossible' as a favour to his pal Tom Cruise.

Estevez was once engaged to his 'St. Elmos's Fire' co-star Demi Moore, and was married to singer Paula Abdul (who became an 'American Idol' judge) before they divorced in 1994. The 'Outsiders' star is also a dab hand behind the camera, and won critical praise for his 2006 drama 'Bobby', which he also wrote. His fourth film as director, 'The Way' is set to be released later this year.

Judd Nelson
Big things were expected for one of the Brat Pack hunks, following the double whammy of 'The Breakfast Club' and 'St. Elmo's Fire'. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in 1987's TV film 'Billionaire Boys Club'.

When the big screen film roles began to dry up, Nelson found more luck on the small screen, starring in a number of shows including 'Suddenly Susan' and 'CSI'. More recently, he voiced the character of Rodimus Prime in the animated 'Transformers' series — a character he first voiced in 1986's 'The Transformers: The Movie'. He also recently starred in 'The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'.

Ally Sheedy
Impressing both in 'Bad Boys', alongside Sean Penn, and ' Oxford Blues' — which is considered by many to be the first Brat Pack movie (although 'Taps' could make the same claim) - Sheedy cemented her status by starring in both 'The Breakfast Club' and 'St. Elmo's Fire'.

Away from her younger co-stars, she starred in robot caper 'Short Circuit' in 1986 alongside Steve Guttenberg, reprising the role in the sequel two years later. She was Demi Moore's bridesmaid when her Brat Pack pal married Bruce Willis in 1987 and would find herself working with Ringwald in 1990's 'Betsy's Wedding', as well as guest starring in Anthony Michael Hall's TV show 'The Dead Zone'.

Sheedy was once addicted to sleeping pills before checking herself into rehab.
Like most of the 'Breakfast Club' stars, the '90s wouldn't reap the same amount of big screen success for Sheedy, but she showcased her dramatic depth as a drug-addicted lesbian photographer in 1998's 'High Art'. Her talent was again utilised to good effect in 'Life During Wartime', Todd Solondz's sequel to 'Happiness'.

Anthony Michael Hall
Could anyone have played a geek better in the '80s than Anthony Michael Hall? He perfected that character in many films, including 'The Breakfast Club', 'Weird Science' and 'Sixteen Candles'. He dated Molly Ringwald briefly after 'Sixteen Candles'.

All three were directed by John Hughes, who also wrote 1983's 'National Lampoon's Vacation', which starred Hall as Chevy Chase's son Rusty. In a bid to avoid being typecast he turned down Hughes-penned roles in 'Ferris Bueller's Day's Off' and 'Pretty in Pink', focusing instead on becoming an action star after signing on for misfiring thriller 'Out of Bounds'.

The former 'Saturday Night Live' cast member, who was close to starring in 'Full Metal Jacket' but pulled out after eight months of negotiations, was also having troubles with alcohol, but recovered in 1990. Roles as the bad guy in 'Edward Scissorhands' followed in a bid to show a different side to his talents, and he was the star of TV sci-fi drama 'The Dead Zone', which ran from 2002-07.

Arguably his best work was as a gay man in 'Six Degrees of Separation' in 1993, and playing Bill Gates in the Emmy-nominated 'Pirates of Silicon Valley'. In 2008 he played Gotham City TV reporter Mike Engel in 'The Dark Knight'.

Paul Gleason
Starring in three of the most enjoyable films of the '80s — 'The Breakfast Club', 'Trading Places' and 'Die Hard' — his role as Principal Richard Vernon is arguably his best, and the role of a strict disciplinarian is one that fitted him like a comfortable jacket.

He would play this sort of role in several TV shows and films — including 'Not Another Teen Movie', which reportedly saw Gleason wearing the exact same jacket he wore in 'The Breakfast Club'. In 2002's 'Van Wilder' he portrayed a similar but toned-down character. Sadly, Gleason died in 2006 from lung cancer.

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