In 1985, New York magazine published an issue detailing the offscreen exploits of a group
of young actors, dubbing them the Brat Pack.
The phrase would follow these actors around for the rest of their careers, becoming a
stumbling block as they matured into adults.
While some have fared better than others since the height of their popularity, it's safe
to say almost nobody from the original Brat Pack enjoys the same level of fame they did
in the 1980s.
Here's what they look like today.
Emilio Estevez
Referred to as the "unofficial president" of the Brat Pack, Emilio Estevez was said
to be the best friend of everyone he starred with.
Whether he wanted the title or not, Estevez became the face of the Brat Pack, and as a
result he felt the weight of its connotations the most.
When the '90s rolled around, Estevez was still best known as the star of The Breakfast Club
and St. Elmo's Fire.
1988's Young Guns was unfairly tarred with the Brat Pack brush, and when the 1990 sequel
ended up getting the same treatment, he knew he needed to do something different.
That came in the form of Gordon Bombay, the drunk-driving lawyer forced to coach a peewee
hockey team as part of his community service in 1992's The Mighty Ducks.
The film proved a huge hit for Disney, and the studio quickly set about preparing two
sequels in which Estevez reprised his role, forging an all-new film identity for the actor.
"Emilio Estevez"
"The Mighty Duck man I was swear to God I was like Emilio!!!"
However, while he succeeded in shedding his Brat Pack image over the course of the cult
trilogy, by the end of the '90s he was doing less noteworthy movies.
Today, Estevez spends more time behind the camera than in front of it.
Rob Lowe
If Emilio Estevez was the head of the Brat Pack, then Rob Lowe was his VP.
Lowe, who starred in The Outsiders and St. Elmo's Fire, was a megahit with young women
across the globe and found that so much romantic attention would be his temporary undoing.
"It's something that I don't have all that much control over."
By 1988, Lowe had dreams of starring in a Martin Scorsese movie and was desperately
trying to shake his Brat Pack image, but having an unauthorized sex tape released was probably
not what he'd had in mind.
After attending a political event in Georgia, Lowe went clubbing with Oxford Blues co-stars
Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy and went home with two girls who taped their encounter and
sold the video to the public.
"It made me reevaluate you know my life my career, all the things that one hopefully
goes through, when... when something like that goes on"
Since then, he's successfully reestablished his polished screen personality on shows like
Parks and Recreation and The Grinder and his achingly self-deprecating memoirs.
Judd Nelson
Often considered the bad boy of the Brat Pack, Judd Nelson had to work hard to avoid being
typecast as the angry and arrogant young man he'd played in The Breakfast Club.
"Eat."
"My."
"Shorts."
He later starred in TV's Suddenly Susan, but he's still experienced some serious career
ups and downs since trying to shake away the Brat Pack's heydey.
"The Brat Pack just seems like such old news.
Even the Indians have stopped talking about Custer."
It's taken several decades, but it looks like Nelson has finally found that long-awaited
taste of critical acclaim playing a recurring character in Fox's hit show Empire.
Molly Ringwald
By the time Molly Ringwald met John Hughes in 1984, she already had one Golden Globe
nomination under her belt for her first movie, Tempest.
But it was the late director who would put the redheaded actress on the path to becoming
a teen idol.
Ringwald shot to prominence with consecutive performances in Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast
Club, and Pretty in Pink, all written by Hughes and all considered essential '80s cinema.
She told The Guardian, "I think the heaviest thing about it is that so many people have
so many memories attached to me...
I wasn't there when they had their first slumber party or their first date or their first kiss,
and yet I'm somehow connected to their lives in that way."
"May I be excused?"
While she remains active in the industry, she's also branched out into different modes
of entertainment, including writing a young adult novel titled When It Happens to You
and dropping a debut jazz record called Except Sometimes.
At the end of the day, though, her main focus is still acting and she's enjoyed regular
small screen roles in shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Riverdale.
Anthony Michael Hall
Considered one of the founding members of the Brat Pack, Anthony Michael Hall was the
first group member to strike up a working relationship with John Hughes in National
Lampoon's Vacation.
He then collaborated with Hughes on Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science.
Hall quickly became well known for playing variations on the high school geek and sought
to distance himself from such roles out of fear of being typecast.
In 1986 he rejected parts in Hughes' next two projects, Pretty In Pink and Ferris Bueller's
Day Off, and instead accepted the lead in action thriller Out of Bounds, hoping to change
the trajectory of his career.
He's remained active in the industry since.
In September 2016, he made headlines for all the wrong reasons by assaulting his neighbor
in an attack that could see him jailed for up to seven years.
Ally Sheedy
Not only was Ally Sheedy a member of the Brat Pack thanks to her roles in The Breakfast
Club and St. Elmo's Fire, but she also starred in a number of other '80s classics.
Count War Games and Short Circuit among her collection of must-see movies.
And while she remembers those years fondly, moving on proved difficult because of the
"pressure to break out and become a success individually" inflicted on her by the Brat
Pack label.
She saw out the 1990s with some relatively well-received films like High Art, though
the following decade saw her moving into TV movies and cameo roles.
She still pops up in small cameo roles today -- for example, she had a brief role in X-Men:
Apocalypse -- and recently mounted a genuine comeback in dark comedy Little Sister, delivering
an "award-caliber" performance as a manic-depressive mother.
Andrew McCarthy
Opposite Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy started his career as a Brat Packer with 1983's Class,
going on to make a name for himself as an affable young lead in St. Elmo's Fire and
Pretty In Pink.
What didn't come across in his wholesome performances was the alcohol problem he'd been fighting
since age 12.
He admitted to being hung over during the entire Pretty In Pink shoot, and by 1992 the
effects of long-term abuse began to show.
After completing a rehab course, McCarthy continued to work, but fewer offers came his
way.
He eventually turned his attention to behind-the-scenes work and is an accomplished TV director and
travel writer.
Demi Moore
Like many of her characters, Demi Moore was fashionably late to the Brat Pack party, missing
The Breakfast Club but making a lot of noise in St. Elmo's Fire.
She and co-star Rob Lowe wasted no time in pulling ahead of the pack the following year,
starring opposite one another as Chicago yuppies in About Last Night, and Moore went on to
establish herself as a genuine leading lady in the '90s, kicking off with Ghost and going
on to star in a string of hits.
Unfortunately for Moore, her star status faded quickly, as she experienced a series of setbacks
courtesy of leading roles in Striptease and G.I.
Jane.
In the years that followed she became best known for her off-screen endeavors, including
marriages to megastars Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher.
But with a cameo role in TV's Empire and a part in the upcoming female comedy Rough Night,
she might just be ready for a turnaround sooner than later.
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