Throughout the '80s, actors like Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald starred alongside each other in a dozen coming-of-age films like The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire while earning themselves the nickname the "Brat Pack" for their seemingly entitled behavior.
It wasn’t the most flattering of nicknames, but it stuck.
The “Brat Pack,” a group of young, up-and-coming actors, took 1980s pop culture by storm. The fresh-faced talents starred in at least a dozen of the most popular coming-of-age films from the decade, including The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and St. Elmo’s Fire.
Jon Cryer, Molly Ringwald, and Andrew McCarthy on set of the film Pretty in Pink (1986).Paramount/Getty Images Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, and Emilio Estevez on the set of The Breakfast Club (1985), another quintessential Brat Pack film. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Emilio Estevez (pictured with Demi Moore and E.G. Daily in 1985) was considered the unofficial leader of the Brat Pack. Barry King/WireImage Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, and Emilio Estevez in Beverly Hills, California. April 22, 1982.Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images Molly Ringwald in 1985.Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images Anthony Michael Hall, c. 1984. The actor's breakthrough role was Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation (1983).Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Andrew McCarthy, c. 1985. He made his big-screen debut in the 1983 movie Class, which co-starred Rob Lowe. Patrick McMullan/Getty Images Demi Moore, c. 1982. Moore's breakthrough role was in St. Elmo's Fire, though she had already been a film extra and done some modeling.Dianna Whitley/Getty Images Rob Lowe in 1985. Teenagers around the world were obsessed the moment he showed up onscreen in The Outsiders in 1983.Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Ally Sheedy, c. 1987. Her first major roles were in 1983's Bad Boys and WarGames.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Judd Nelson in 1985. After St. Elmo's Fire, he concentrated on more action-oriented movies. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald playing with a puppy during a break while shooting The Breakfast Club. The pair were romantically involved for a short time during filming. Steve Kagan/Getty Images Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald browse a record shop, 1984. Steve Kagan/Getty Images Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys and Molly Ringwald at the premiere of Some Kind of Wonderful at Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, 1987.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images A 1982 snapshot of Demi Moore, along with her first husband Freddy Moore, from whom she took her stage name. The actress and the musician were married from 1980 to 1985. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Actor Timothy Hutton and Demi Moore at a benefit ball in 1983.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore were romantically linked after her divorce. They are pictured here in New York City in 1986.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Rob Lowe and girlfriend Melissa Gilbert of Little House on the Prairie in 1982.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Ally Sheedy and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora attend a concert in Los Angeles, 1988. Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, and Anthony Michael Hall, c. 1986. Nelson and Sheedy co-starred in the thriller Blue City in 1986.Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith in a scene from Weird Science in 1985.Hulton Archive/Getty Images Considered to be secondary Brat Pack members, actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon talk at a fundraiser, 1986. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Ally Sheedy and co-star Brian McNamara in the '80s cult film Short Circuit, 1986. David Foster Productions/Getty Images Ally Sheedy and Matthew Broderick star together in WarGames, c. 1983. Broderick would go on to play the lead in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a role originally written for Anthony Michael Hall. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Sarah Jessica Parker, her then-boyfriend Robert Downey Jr., and Judd Nelson attend a party in Los Angeles, 1988. Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Friends Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn in 1984. Both actors are considered secondary Brat Pack members. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Jon Cryer and Matthew Broderick during the Biloxi Blues afterparty in New York City, 1988. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Brat Pack-adjacent actors Jennifer Grey and John Cusack, 1989. Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Jenny Wright, Chris Penn, Lea Thompson, Eric Stoltz, and Ilan Mitchell-Smith in The Wild Life, c. 1984. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, and C. Thomas Howell on the set of The Outsiders, a film that featured Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and Emilio Estevez.Nancy Moran/Sygma via Getty Images Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, and Patrick Swayze on the set of The Outsiders. Nancy Moran/Sygma via Getty Images Lea Thompson and Tom Cruise in the film All the Right Moves, 1983. 20th Century Fox/Getty Images The cast of the film Young Guns (clockwise from top left): Lou Diamond Phillips, Casey Siemaszko, Dermot Mulroney, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, and Kiefer Sutherland, 1988. This and the 1990 film Flatliners are often regarded as the last two ensemble movies that had the "Brat Pack" feel.20th Century Fox/Fotos International/Getty Images
The True Story Of The Brat Pack, The Group Of Young Actors Who Shaped 1980s Hollywood View GalleryThe term was coined by New York Magazine writer David Blum, who wrote a feature about the "unofficial president" of the group, Emilio Estevez, in 1985. However, it was this very article that first introduced the world to the Brat Pack that ultimately led to its demise.
Above, look through 33 iconic images of the Brat Pack. And below, delve into the group's dramatic rise and fall.
Who Were The Brat Pack Members?
According to most sources, there were eight core members of the Brat Pack: Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, and Judd Nelson. At least two of these actors starred in almost every major teen film of the '80s.
Then there were others who circled the pack and were often involved in the same projects, like Robert Downey Jr., Matthew Broderick, Tom Cruise, and John Cusack.
As to whether or not it was better to be inside the pack than out, it's vital to understand how the term "Brat Pack" was coined. It was born from an article printed in the June 10, 1985 edition of New York Magazine. While writing a feature story about Emilio Estevez, journalist David Blum was invited to a night out in Hollywood with Estevez, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson.
Blum summarized some of the actions of the group as entitled and "bratty." He thought up the nickname for the exclusive young party tribe as a callback to the Rat Pack of the 1960s. The article was not a good look for the stars, and the term stuck, growing to include those who weren't even present that night.
Twitter/Old Schools 80sThe cover of the New York Magazine issue in which David Blum coined the term "Brat Pack."
"The 'Brat Pack' thing is warm and fuzzy now, but at the time, it was a very scathing thing," Andrew McCarthy told Yahoo! in 2022.
Blum's description of the Brat Pack members caused major strife within the group. According to Esquire, Estevez called the journalist the day the story was published and told him, "My friends hate me now and won't speak to me."
Ally Sheedy said that the article "destroyed" the sense of camaraderie she'd experienced as a member of the pack. "I had felt truly a part of something, and that guy just blew it to pieces."
And Judd Nelson noted of Blum, "I would have been better served following my gut feeling and knocking him unconscious."
However, despite the strong reactions from some members of the group, others have maintained that the entire concept of the Brat Pack was simply a "media ploy" to sell movie tickets.
Why The Brat Pack Wasn't What It Seemed
There were certainly friendships, feuds, and romantic trysts between members of the Brat Pack, but the eight actors weren't necessarily the close-knit clique that the media made them out to be. In fact, two of the core members have still never even met.
Perhaps the most well-known Brat Pack couple was Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore. The pair dated for six months and were even engaged to be married. However, Estevez got an ex-girlfriend pregnant while they were together, and they never made it down the aisle.
Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall dated during the filming of The Breakfast Club after catching each other's eye when they co-starred in Sixteen Candles the year prior.
Hall's mother, Mercedes, later recalled Ringwald coming up to her on set and telling her, "I think I'm falling in love with your son." She responded, "That's so sweet — why don't you tell him?" The very next day, according to Mercedes, "they were walking around holding hands."
Silver Screen Collection/Getty ImagesThe cast of St. Elmo's Fire (1985). Left to right: Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Mare Winningham, Judd Nelson, and Andrew McCarthy.
While theirs was puppy love that soon faded, Ringwald was also involved in another dramatic relationship within the Brat Pack. During the filming of Pretty in Pink, she and co-star Andrew McCarthy were at each other's throats.
"They hated each other," director Howard Deutch told Den of Geek. "They hated each other because Molly had a crush on him and he did not have a crush on her. And then he resented that she was the foundation of it, and then it escalated."
"That relationship was filled with conflict," he continued. "You can't manufacture that."
There were plenty of other notable dynamics among Brat Pack members, as well. Rob Lowe and Demi Moore had fiery onscreen chemistry — that they allegedly tried to carry out in real life for one night before regretting it. Lowe and Estevez had a "bromance" and were always hanging out together even outside of filming.
But perhaps the most shocking relationship within the Brat Pack was the one that didn't actually exist. According to Insider, Anthony Michael Hall and Andrew McCarthy have never met. Hall once even went as far as to say that the Brat Pack itself "didn't exist."
Whether it was a media ploy or not, however, the Brat Pack still left a lasting mark on millions of teens who watched the actors' films in the 1980s.
The Enduring Legacy Of The Brat Pack
It all began with a handful of successful films. Then, an ill-fated magazine article betrayed a group of young actors by assigning them a label they loathed. Before, they were regarded as talented artists. After, many considered them an unprofessional club of entitled brats.
Most members of the Brat Pack still went on to find varying levels of success. Emilio Estevez starred in The Mighty Ducks franchise and wrote and directed a film of his own in 2010. Rob Lowe had a sex tape scandal in 1988, but he made a successful return to the public eye with roles in Wayne's World and the hit television series Parks and Recreation.
Anthony Michael Hall joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for a season and has appeared in films from Edward Scissorhands (1990) to Halloween Kills (2021). The fellow Brat Pack member he never met, Andrew McCarthy, moved on from acting to directing. In 2021, he released a memoir entitled Brat: An '80s Story.
Universal Pictures/Getty ImagesAlly Sheedy and Ringwald in a scene from The Breakfast Club (1985). Sheedy has said that the Brat Pack never hung out in a big group.
Judd Nelson earned roles in movies like Billionaire Boys Club and TV shows like Suddenly Susan and Empire. Molly Ringwald also went on to star in several hit TV series, from The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Riverdale to Netflix's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Demi Moore took a break from Hollywood to raise her family, but she returned in the early 2000s to star in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. And the final Brat Pack member, Ally Sheedy, made appearances in movies like High Art and TV shows like Kyle XY and Psych.
While some of the actors are better known today than others, the Brat Pack of the '80s defined the era for many teens and young adults of the time.
As McCarthy put it, "These movies are meaningful to a generation of people, because they remind them of their own youth. When they talk to me about the Brat Pack, they're really talking about that own moment in their youth when they were in their basement... watching one of my movies for the 10th time. It's about them, and I'm just the avatar that represents that to them."
"Over time, it's become this warm and fuzzy phrase for this iconic moment in the '80s," McCarthy said of the thorny nickname. "[It's] a time capsule for a certain demographic of a certain generation."
After looking through these images of the Brat Pack, check out these vintage '80s photos of the height of arcade culture. Then, revisit the rise and fall of the shopping mall.
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