HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — While John Hughes made a star out of Molly Ringwald as a teenager, the now 41-year-old actress admits the pair had a falling out that lasted more than 20 years.
In an open letter published in the New York Times, Ringwald opens up about what led to her estranged relationship with Hughes, who died last week from an heart attack.
"Most people who knew John knew that he was able to hold a grudge longer than anyone — his grudges were almost supernatural things, enduring for years, even decades," write the actress, who shot to fame behind a string of the director's films — 1984's "Sixteen Candles," 1985's "The Breakfast Club" and 1986's "Pretty in Pink."
Ringwald, who now stars on ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," explains that the rift began when she realized that she needed to expand her horizons as an actress.
"I felt that I needed to work with other people," she explains. "I wanted to grow up, something I felt (rightly or wrongly) I couldn’t do while working with John. Sometimes I wonder if that was what he found so unforgivable."
While the pair didn't speak for years, Ringwald says that about 15 years ago she decided to write Hughes to tell him how important he was to her.
"A week after I sent my letter, I received a bouquet of flowers as big as my apartment from John, thanking me for writing," she recalls. "I was so relieved to know that I had gotten through to him, and I feel grateful now for that sense of closure."
While she felt a need to break away at one point, Ringwald says she will always be thankful that someone took a chance on her at an early age.
"John saw something in me that I didn't even see in myself," she says. "He had complete confidence in me as an actor, which was an extraordinary and heady sensation for anyone, let alone a 16-year-old girl. I did some of my best work with him. How could I not? He continually told me that I was the best, and because of my undying respect for him and his judgment, how could I have not believed him?"
"In life, there is always that special person who shapes who you are, who helps to determine the person you become," says Ringwald. "For me, that person was John Hughes."
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