In a recent interview with The Guardian, Molly Ringwald told reporter Zoe Williams that she turned down Julia Roberts’ role in the 1990 classic “Pretty Woman” because she thought the story was “icky.” 

In the film, Roberts plays prostitute Vivian Ward, who is hired by businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to be his escort for some work events. Eventually, the pair fall in love and Vivian’s life is changed forever.
Molly Ringwald and Julia Roberts.
Molly Ringwald and Julia Roberts.Arturo Holmes/WireImage/Getty Images; Touchstone Pictures

Ringwald told The Guardian that she was originally offered the part that effectively launched Roberts’ career as a leading actor, but she declined it.

“Julia Roberts was wonderful in it, but I didn’t really like the story,” Ringwald said. “Even then, I felt like there was something icky about it.”

This isn’t the first time the “Sixteen Candles” star has spoken about nearly being involved in the classic ’90s rom-com. In a 2012 Reddit AMA, she said she received an early script of the film but didn’t recall rejecting it.

“I think I saw an early draft and it was called ‘$3,000.’ I don’t specifically remember turning it down,” she commented in the AMA. “The script was okay but I gotta say, Julia Roberts is what makes that movie. It was her part. Every actor hopes for a part that lets them shine like that.”

In the new interview, Ringwald also named parts in other classic movies that she was considered for but didn’t end up starring in. “I didn’t really feel like darker roles were available to me,” she said.

pretty in pink andie
Ringwald in “Pretty in Pink.” Paramount Pictures
She recalled being turned down for roles in the 1988 film “Working Girl” and the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs” when she was in her early 20s because directors thought she was “too young.”

Ringwald was clear that the height of her fame in the 1980s was a different time in Hollywood, so even some of her movies could be considered problematic in 2023.

She also told The Guardian that she can’t watch her 1985 film “The Breakfast Club,” about teenagers from different social groups who bond while in weekend detention together, with her daughter Adele because of the sexist, outdated tropes it promotes.

“She’s very liberal. I mean, I’m very liberal, but she’s another level. Which she should be, and I’m glad,” she said of her 13-year-old.