Molly Ringwald Says Her Mom Was 'Mortified' When She Realized She Forgot Her Daughter's Birthday

The Sixteen Candles actress tells PEOPLE she has given her mom a "pass" for her mistake

Molly Ringwald attends the 7th Annual Hollywood Beauty Awards at Taglyan Complex on March 19, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic

Molly Ringwald says her mother Adele was "mortified" when she realized that she had forgotten her daughter's birthday earlier this year.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at the 2022 Hollywood Beauty Awards in Los Angels on Saturday, the 54-year-old actress revealed that her mother was embarrassed when she realized she had forgotten about her daughter's Feb. 18 birthday.

However, Ringwald has already forgiven her mom's mistake.

"She was a little mortified, but she is 81 years old," the actress told PEOPLE, noting that it was "the first time she's ever forgotten" her birthday in over five decades. "So, she gets a pass."

The birthday blunder is similar to the one experienced by Ringwald's character Samantha Baker in the classic 1984 movie Sixteen Candles.

Molly Ringwald and Adele Georgiana Gianopoulos
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for American Ballet Theater

Last month, Ringwald shared the text message threat between herself and her mother on her birthday in a post on her Instagram page captioned, "Actual conversation with my mom today."

In the exchange, Ringwald asked her mom, "That's it? You don't have anything else to say to me today?" to which her mom replied, "I didn't realize it was the 18th today. Happy birthday! I haven't got your present in the mail. Will do very soon."

"Life imitates art," Ringwald wrote in response, referencing her Sixteen Candles role.

"How true," Ringwald's mother wrote. She then quipped, "It took me a few more years to forget."

In Oct. 2021, Ringwald said on SiriusXM's Radio Andy that she had yet to watch Sixteen Candles or any of her past movies with her twins Roman and Adele, 12.

Molly Ringwald attends the 7th Annual Hollywood Beauty Awards at Taglyan Complex on March 19, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic

"It definitely is a different time," she explained. "People ask me if I've watched them with my kids, and I did watch the first one — which was the impetus to write that article — with Mathilda. And it was such an emotional experience that I haven't found that strength to watch it with my two other kids."

Ringwald continued, "My 12-year-old daughter Adele is the most woke individual that you've ever met, and I just don't know how I'm gonna go through that, you know, watching it with her and [her] saying, 'How could you do that? How could you be part of something that?' "

Regarding the "complicated" nature of the films, she elaborated, "On the other hand, they're also about people that felt like outsiders. They speak to a lot of people … I feel like that's what makes the movies really wonderful."

While she wants to "change" the questionable elements for the future, Ringwald added, "That doesn't mean at all that I want them to be erased. I'm proud of those movies, and I have a lot of affection for them. They are so much a part of me."

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