The Age Every Brat Pack Member Is
The Brat Pack stars have aged out of their classic 1980s roles. Named in a New York magazine article by David Blum in 1985, the group consisted of a cadre of popular teenage Actors well-known for starring in teen films over the decade. Under the direction another well-known 1980s actor, Andrew McCarthy, the group was the focal point of Hulu's Brat Pack documentary Brats, which debuted on June 13, 2024.
Usually, a celebrity had to satisfy two criteria to be regarded as a main Brat Pack member. The first need was either to be cast in The Breakfast Club or the St. Elmo's Fire. Joel Schumacher and John Hughes separately directed the two classic films, which debuted in 1985. Having seen at least one other film with at least one other member of such ensemble casts was the other criteria, which didn't apply in every case.
Ring Wald, Molly
One of the two younger group members was Brat Pack star Molly Ringwald. Born on February 18, 1968, she was 15 years old when she filmed her breakthrough performance in John Hughes' directorial debut Sixteen Candles, matching the age her character in 1984, the year it was released. She was genuinely in her teenage years while shooting her other biggest films, unlike most stars in Teen Movies; she was 16 when shooting The Breakfast Club and 17 during production of Pretty in Pink. She is 56 years old right now, while I was writing.
Estevez, Emilio
Born on May 12, 1962, Estevez was supposed to be the Brat Pack leader. He would thus have turned 20 during the process of doing his early teen role in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders. The celebrity appeared in both The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire; although he would have been 21 when filming The Breakfast Club, he had turned 22 by the time production on St. Elmo's Fire got underway. Estevez is fifty-two years old currently.
Michael Hall, Anthony
Among the group members with most Brat Pack movie experience is Anthony Michael Hall. Born on April 14, 1968, Hall was also 15 when he featured opposite Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles, the film that launched John Hughes' directing career and is mostly responsible for the mid-1980s adolescent movie explosion. Hall turned sixteen while working on The Breakfast Club, the same Age he was shooting his major part in Weird Science. Now Hall is 56 years old.
The actor turned down roles Hughes penned for Hall in Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off in order to avoid typecasting himself.
Robert Lowe
Born March 17, 1964, Rob Lowe co-starred with Emilio Estevez in both The Outsiders and St. Elmo's Fire. Having just turned 18 when he began filming the Coppola film and 20 years old during production on the Schumacher classic, he was essentially two years younger than his co-star. Lowe is 60 years old today.
Judd Nelson:
Born November 28, 1959, Judd Nelson is the oldest Brat Pack member. Though he didn't feature in many more teen films of the time, he is notable for having starred in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire. He was 24 at the time he shot the former and would have turned 25 soon after main filming started on the latter. Nelson is sixty-four years old now.
Friend Sheedy
June 13, 1962 marks Ally Sheedy's birth. Though she was a teenager during neither The Breakfast Club or St. Elmo's Fire, she is another Brat Packer who starred in both productions. She had turned 22 by the time filming on the latter started; she was 21 when shooting the former. Filming her earlier part alongside Matthew Broderick in 1983's WarGames, she would have been 20. Sheedy is 62 years old today.
Dei Moore
Born November 11, 1962, Demi Moore was at one point engaged to well-known Brat Pack actor Emilio Estevez. She would have thus turned 22 barely one month after her film St. Elmo's Fire's start of production. Though she turned 23 while filming, she was the same age when she starred alongside Rob Lowe in the next year's About Last Night. Moore is sixty-one years old currently.
Andrews McCarthy
November 29, 1962 saw the birth of Brats' director. He would have been 22 filming St. Elmo's Fire, 23 making his follow-up Pretty in Pink with Molly Ringwald, and just about to become 24 when he started playing his starring part in 1987's Less than Zero. McCarthy is 61 years old today.
Brat Pack, "Fifth Beatles"
Mare Winningham, 65, is the only St. Elmo's Fire cast member not to show up in another teen film with any of her co-stars or the Breakfast Club ensemble.
Tom Cruise, who starred in the classic 1983 adolescent film Risky Business in addition to being highlighted in Blum's original story for his part in Taps, is 61 Years Old.
Emilio Estevez's brother, Charlie Sheen, played youthful roles in films such The Boys Next Door and Red Dawn in addition to a minor part in John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
James Spader, 64, acted in a range of films opposite major Brat Packers including Pretty in Pink, Less than Zero, Mannequin, and Bad Influence.
Along with appearing in films including The Pick-up Artist and Back to School and three times, in Johnny Be Good, Weird Science, and Saturday Night Live, Robert Downey Jr. co-starred with James Spader and Andrew McCarthy in Less than Zero.
Though neither of the stars were generally thought to be Brat Pack members outside of the article where the phrase was originated, Timothy Hutton, 63 Years Old, also garnered a mention in Blum's New York article for his Taps performance opposite Tom Cruise.
The Hulu documentary Brats examines the lives and careers of the legendary Brat Pack, including Timothy Hutton—who featured in Ordinary People.
Additional Stars Associated with the Brat Pack
Other stars have been connected to the Brat Pack, usually by appearing in a film including at least one group core member. Like Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor Matthew Broderick (62), other young stars who collaborated with John Hughes are also frequently regarded as linked to the group. Other tertiary Brat Packers are John Cusack (57), his sister Joan Cusack (61), Jami Gertz (58), Sean Penn (63), Kevin Bacon (65), Jon Cryer (59), Nicolas Cage (60), Lea Thompson (63), Mary Stuart Masterson (57), Melissa Gilbert (60), and Kiefer Sutherland (57).
