Author Guide · Memoir & Fiction
Books Written by
Molly Ringwald was sixteen when Sixteen Candles (1984) made her the face of John Hughes’s teen films, followed by The Breakfast Club (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986). Her writing came later and has gone in several directions: a self-help book, a novel in stories, an advice column for The Guardian from 2014, and translations from French, including Philippe Besson’s Lie With Me (2019). This guide covers her 2 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 2 key books · 2010–2012 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Molly Ringwald has written two books: Getting the Pretty Back (2010), a self-help book, and When It Happens to You (2012), a novel in stories. She has also translated two books from French, Lie With Me (2019) by Philippe Besson and My Cousin Maria Schneider (2023) by Vanessa Schneider. Start with When It Happens to You to see her as a writer of fiction.
Where to Start with Molly Ringwald
If you want her fiction
→ When It Happens to You (2012) — a novel in stories.
If you want her own voice
→ Getting the Pretty Back (2010) — friendship, family and advice.
2 Molly Ringwald Books, in Order
Getting the Pretty Back
Her first book, a self-help book whose subtitle sums up its subjects: friendship, family and finding the perfect lipstick.
When It Happens to You
Her first work of fiction, published in 2012 and subtitled A Novel in Stories: a book of stories that together make up a novel.
In What Order to Read Molly Ringwald
The two books are unrelated, so the order is up to you. Getting the Pretty Back is lighter and more personal; When It Happens to You is fiction.
If you want to follow her as a writer beyond that, her translations from French come next: Philippe Besson’s Lie With Me (2019), a coming-of-age love story about two teenage boys in 1980s France, and Vanessa Schneider’s memoir My Cousin Maria Schneider (2023).
A reading path
1. When It Happens to You (2012)
2. Getting the Pretty Back (2010)
3. Lie With Me by Philippe Besson, translated by Ringwald (2019)
Everything Else Molly Ringwald Published
Beyond the 2 key books: 2 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Translations from French
2
2 books · 2019–2023
- 2019Lie With Menovel by Philippe Besson, translated by Ringwald
- 2023My Cousin Maria Schneidermemoir by Vanessa Schneider, translated by Ringwald
The years · 1968–2023
Quick facts about Molly Ringwald
- Known for
- Molly Ringwald is known for starring in John Hughes’s teen films of the mid-1980s, above all Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.
- 1968
- Born in Roseville, California
- 1985
- The Breakfast Club
- 2023
- Translates My Cousin Maria Schneider
- Born
- 18 February 1968, Roseville, California
- Family
- Daughter of the jazz pianist and bandleader Bob Ringwald
- Films
- Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986)
- Television
- Riverdale (2017–2023), as Mary Andrews
- Writing
- Advice column for The Guardian from 2014; translations from French
- Music
- Jazz album Except Sometimes (2013)
The red mark is 2012: When It Happens to You, her first work of fiction.
How Molly Ringwald Writes: From Advice to Fiction
Getting the Pretty Back is a self-help book, written in her own voice, about friendship, family and style, as its subtitle suggests.
When It Happens to You is a different kind of book: a novel in stories, in which separate stories add up to a single work of fiction.
Her later writing work is mostly as a translator from French and, from 2014, as an advice columnist for The Guardian, answering readers’ questions about love, family and life in general.
Watch
Molly Ringwald on Getting the Pretty Back
Molly Ringwald talks about Getting the Pretty Back at Talks at Google in 2010.
Frequently asked questions about Molly Ringwald’s books
How many books has Molly Ringwald written?
Two: Getting the Pretty Back (2010) and When It Happens to You (2012). She has also translated two books from French, in 2019 and 2023.
What are Molly Ringwald’s books in order?
Getting the Pretty Back (2010) and When It Happens to You (2012), followed by her translations Lie With Me (2019) and My Cousin Maria Schneider (2023).
Where should I start with Molly Ringwald?
With When It Happens to You (2012), her novel in stories. If you want something lighter and more personal, start with Getting the Pretty Back (2010).
What is Molly Ringwald’s most famous book?
There is no clear bestseller between the two. When It Happens to You (2012) is her only work of fiction; Getting the Pretty Back (2010) was her first book.
Has Molly Ringwald written a memoir?
Not a full one. Getting the Pretty Back (2010) is a self-help book on friendship, family and style rather than a memoir.
Is When It Happens to You a novel or short stories?
Both: it is subtitled A Novel in Stories, a book of stories that together form a novel.
What has Molly Ringwald translated?
Two books from French: Philippe Besson’s novel Lie With Me (2019) and Vanessa Schneider’s memoir My Cousin Maria Schneider (2023), about the actress Maria Schneider.
Does Molly Ringwald write an advice column?
She began an advice column for The Guardian in 2014, answering readers’ questions about love, family and life in general.
Footnotes
- Molly Ringwald — Wikipedia
- Getting the Pretty Back — Publishers Weekly
- ‘When It Happens to You’ by Molly Ringwald — The Boston Globe, 2012
- Molly Ringwald on When It Happens to You — Los Angeles Review of Books
- Lie With Me — Good Reading
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“I didn’t really feel like darker roles were available to me.”
— Molly Ringwald, interview with IndieWire (2023)
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