Molly Ringwald thinks her daughter was born out of a Studio 54 rendezvous, slams 'nepo babies'
As her 20-year-old daughter Mathilda Gianopoulos makes her feature film debut this year, Molly Ringwald is musing about how her firstborn's origin story might have destined her for a theatrical career.
In an interview with The Sunday Times published Wednesday, Ringwald, 56, revealed she thinks Gianopoulos might have been born out of a tryst with now-husband Panio Gianopoulos at the iconic Midtown Manhattan nightclub-turned-Broadway theater Studio 54.
"I believe that Mathilda was conceived in the dressing room at Studio 54 right at the end of my run playing Sally Bowles in 'Cabaret' in 2003," Ringwald said. "It’s so Mathilda to be conceived in such an iconic place."
By age 36, Ringwald found that her "biological clock" "had kind of become deafening." At the time, "All I could think about was: must have kids," she said.
Mathilda was born in October 2003. Ringwald and Panio Gianopoulos, an author and book editor, were married in July 2007. In 2009, the couple's fraternal twins, Roman and Adele, were born.
Though best known as a Brat Pack member with lead roles in 1980s John Hughes films, Ringwald has continued her acting career while living a quieter life in upstate New York, appearing in shows such as FX's "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans," "The Bear" and "Riverdale."
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Molly Ringwald thinks 'the nepo baby thing is ridiculous'
Mathilda Gianopoulos' role in the Anne Hathaway-led romance "The Idea of You" – which releases May 2 – marks her first acting credit on IMDB.
That's because her parents didn't want her to become a child actor.
"We wouldn’t let Mathilda pursue acting when she was a child, as we wanted her to concentrate on being a kid. She fought us on that — she’s still kind of mad about it, but it was the right decision," Ringwald said. "I don’t think that professional acting is a great way for kids to grow up. It’s way too stressful and it’s a crap shoot on whether or not the kids can make it through. I did my first professional job at ten years old and it was not easy."
Ringwald also weighed in on the discourse in recent years over who benefits from nepotism in Hollywood.
"The nepo baby thing is ridiculous. Of course, if you have a parent in the industry, it’s something that you’ve heard about and might be genetically predisposed to," she said.
Once Gianopoulos set her sights on an acting career, the 20-year-old didn't want her mom's recognizable last name to be what opened doors for her in Hollywood. Ringwald told The Times that her daughter moved to Brooklyn "about a year ago" and "took Gianopoulos, her father’s name, instead of Ringwald."
"I said, 'Are you sure? Ringwald is so much easier to spell and it might open some doors," Ringwald said. "But she was adamant."
The family lived in Los Angeles until Gianopoulos "was almost 12," and it wasn't until they moved to upstate New York that she realized "how uncommon" her mom's job was. One of her first memories of her mom involved touring with the musical "Sweet Charity" when she was 3, Gianopoulos revealed.
"We’re both very passionate, so we may have butted heads when I was growing up but we also bonded over that," she said. "We’ve always felt more like sisters, and as I get older we get closer and closer."