Molly Ringwald is Now an Author

Molly Ringwald, the redheaded teen queen of the 1980s John Hughes movies, is handing out advice on parenting, aging and other topics in her self-help book, "Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family and Finding the Perfect Lipstick (It Books, $25.99)," that is on store shelves today.

Now 42, the mother of three and a star on the teen soap "The Secret Life of The American Teenager," Ringwald has penned a light-hearted look at turning 40 that includes fashion tips, relationship advice and personal anecdotes, though little star gossip.

The former Brat Packer wants every woman who reads her book to become "the sexiest, funniest, smartest, best-dressed, and most confident woman that you can be."

As she dispenses advice on how to do this, Ringwald also looks back on her own life, which included child stardom - her parents got her through that, she said - a period of finding herself in France, a failed first marriage and the difficulties of getting along with a large clan of Greek in-laws. Her husband, Panio Gianopoulos, is a book editor and writer.

Ringwald, who appeared in TV series such as "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life," has dozens of movies to her credit, but she is best known as the star of such John Hughes teen angst classics as "Sixteen Candles" and "Pretty in Pink."

Ringwald belonged to the 1980s' Brat Pack along with Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez and Andrew McCarthy.