It’s the 40th anniversary of 1984’s teen cult classic, Sixteen Candles. But since Jake Ryan fans can’t get a glimpse of Michael Schoeffling on the occasion, we might as well know more about his daughter, following in his footsteps as a successful model alongside acting.
While Schoeffling turned away from the spotlight and chose a secluded life in a small Pennsylvania town to raise his family, daughter Scarlett Schoeffling is taking the reins on restoring the family name in Hollywood and fashion.
Who is Michael Schoeffling’s daughter?
On 6 May 1991, Scarlett Schoeffling was born to model/actor parents, Michael Schoeffling and Valerie C. Robinson, per Buzzfeed. After his Hollywood stint, Schoeffling, 63, moved to Pennsylvania in the ‘90s and opened up a woodworking shop to support his family. While the family is known to be notoriously private about their lives, Scarlett is expected to have been raised there.
Scarlett also has an elder sibling, Zane Schoeffling, who is three years older. He was born on 6th August 1988 in Pennsylvania, per Briefly News.
Now, the 33-year-old model is based in Brooklyn and signed with New York Models and LA Models. She has appeared in campaigns for Tommy Bahama and ESTEE LAUDER Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in 2013, per People.
The 5’10 model made her acting debut with Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story in 2020 and also guest-starred in a June 2020 episode of the drama series, Billions starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. The episode was called The Nordic Model, per IMDb.
Scarlett is occasionally active on Instagram with posts ranging from her modeling endeavors to aesthetic snaps and a sprinkle of family love here and there. In June 2023, she posted Michael Schoeffling’s first-ever GQ cover in the ‘80s for Father’s Day. “my fathers day post is dads first GQ cover. slay,” the model quipped in the caption.
Also, sweet pictures with her dad and mom appeared on her social media feed in January 2020. She has a 21.5K following on the gram.
Quite visibly, Scarlett has inherited the gene lottery from her parents and it’s probably the best glimpse Jake Ryan fans might get of the former star for now.
How did Michael Schoeffling land his breakout role in Sixteen Candles?
Raised in New Jersey, the Hollywood star started out as a model in New York after graduating from Temple University. He was encouraged by his photographer Bruce Weber to steer towards acting, which he did and was eventually spotted by director John Hughes in 1983. Schoeffling also met his future wife and model, Valerie C. Robinson during his modeling stint in NYC.
Hughes made his directorial debut with Sixteen Candles and helmed a star-studded cast of Schoeffling, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Beth Ringwald, John Cusack, and Haviland Morris. Although the movie was about being 16, Schoeffling was actually 23 then. The movie was a success and eventually propelled into a cult classic.
In Sixteen Candles, Schoeffling played the high-school heartthrob Jake Ryan, Samantha’s (Molly Ringwald) biggest crush. However, Ryan’s romance with Havilan Morris’ Caroline got in the way of Samantha pursuing him. The movie follows the sweet 16 escapades of American teenagers and Samantha finally getting to be with her crush Ryan.
Besides Sixteen Candles, Schoeffling starred in nine other movies, the likes of 1985’s Vision Quest, 1990’s Mermaids, 1986’s Let’s Get Harry, and others.
