Summary

• The Bear surprises viewers with a Molly Ringwald cameo in a season 1 episode, bringing emotional depth to the series.
• Ringwald's impactful speech on past toxicity resonates with star Jeremy Allen White, highlighting her acting prowess over her iconic '80s roles.
• Molly Ringwald's brief, yet memorable appearance in The Bear paves the way for a star-studded season 2 filled with more notable cameos.

The cast of FX and Hulu's The Bear includes some surprises, but few had viewers talking as much as the apparent Molly Ringwald The Bear cameo. The series, created by Christopher Storer and starring Shameless's Jeremy Allen White as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, has been praised for its realism in depicting what it is like to work in a kitchen, including the fast-paced nature of this lifestyle and the anxiety it can cause. Renowned chef Carmy returns home to Chicago to run his deceased brother's restaurant and along the way, he comes across someone played by a 1980s icon.

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Jeremy Allen White's strong performance leads the Bear's cast, but there are also many surprises, as some fairly recognizable performers appear for small roles. One such surprise comes in The Bear season 1, episode 3, as the episode opens with Carmy attending an Al-Anon meeting. Molly Ringwald plays the Al-Anon meeting moderator and her addition comes as a pleasant surprise. Still, the briefness of her appearance might leave some confusion about why the former The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles star is appearing in smaller roles in shows like The Bear.

Why The Molly Ringwald Bear Cameo Was A Big Deal

There's a reason the Molly Ringwald The Bear cameo caused a stir. Molly Ringwald was a Brat Pack member and a major star in the 1980s, yet her filmography more recently has been filled with smaller roles.

Molly Ringwald was in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager for five seasons until 2013. She then landed a recurring role in The CW's hit series Riverdale, where she played Archie's mother, and she later joined Netflix's Kissing Booth franchise. Instead of starring in major movies or TV shows, Molly Ringwald is continuing to find work by taking smaller roles, such as the one in The Bear.

Molly Ringwald's The Bear season 1, episode 3 cameo might not last very long, but she does have an impactful role. She's the moderator at the Al-Anon meeting that Jeremy Allen White's character attends. Far from her reputation for teen movies, Molly Ringwald's character in The Bear gives an emotional speech about her past with an alcoholic husband, how she played a part in his drinking, and how it taught her to steer clear of toxic environments. What she says hits home for Carmy, even if he does not fully implement the lessons she talks about right away.

Why Molly Ringwald Was So Popular

The Molly Ringwald The Bear cameo was most exciting for fans of 80s teen movies. Molly Ringwald is still best known for appearing in John Hughes' influential teen comedies such as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink. These movies essentially invented modern teen comedy and their influence can still be seen in more recent teen movies ranging from the star-studded Mean Girls to Superbad.

Molly Ringwald is arguably the actress who was most associated with this era of movies, and the enduring popularity of Hughes' comedies as well as an active social media presence has helped to ensure Molly Ringwald remains popular among newer generations. While Ringwald hasn't had as active of a career after the 80s, this was largely by her own choice. She was offered the lead roles in Pretty Woman and Ghost, but turned them down.

Instead, she moved to France and has appeared in smaller movie and TV roles. Ringwald has also worked as a singer and translator of French literature. It was nevertheless exciting to see her in The Bear as another distinctive face in the series' intense world. Following the Molly Ringwald The Bear cameo in 2022 she appeared as Shari Dahmer in Netflix's miniseries Monster, further showing how she can shine even when not defining the modern girl-next-door stereotype. She's also appeared in Ryan Murphy's Feud anthology series since, keeping to those TV roles.

Molly Ringwald Set The Stage For Future The Bear Cameos

The Molly Ringwald The Bear appearance might've seemed somewhat random when it happened back in season 1, but it set the stage for a cameo-filled season 2. First, there was Will Poulter, fresh off a role in the blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, who appeared in "Honeydew" as a chef who helps Marcus while he works in Copenhagen. Poulter reportedly begged to be on the show after enjoying season 1 (via Variety), and he was just the beginning of a lauded season 2.

The acclaimed episode "Fishes" saw Bob Odenkirk, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Paulson, and John Mulaney all appear as various members of the Berzatto family and their friends. That was on top of the return of Jon Bernthal as Carmy's brother Mikey and even the debut of Gillian Jacobs as Tiff, Richie's ex and the mother of his daughter. Jamie Lee Curtis was also not the only Oscar winner to make a cameo as Olivia Colman played Chef Terry in "Forks." They may have all played bigger roles than Ringwald, but it's clear she started a trend in The Bear.