Molly Ringwald plays the role of “Anne Juergens” on ABC Family’s hit series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which premiered an all new season Monday, June 22nd at 8/7 central. I had the honor to participate in a conference call Q&A session along with many other writers. Between the group of us, we had a fantastic conversation and learned a lot about Molly Ringwald and her character on the show.

What do you think it is about the show that makes it so popular, and did that popularity surprise you at all?

Molly Ringwald: Well, it’s always surprising when something turns out to be such a big hit like this. I mean you do all these projects and you hope for the best. You really never know what’s going to strike a chord. I just think that people just really like the characters. I think that they relate to the characters and I think that it’s really well cast. I think we have a lot of great actors in the show and a lot of good charisma and I think Brenda Hampton is really good at writing for these characters. So, I mean I guess that’s really, in my mind, what’s made it take off.

Can you tell us where are you in the filming schedule? How far along is the season, and are you going to have to take some time off for maternity leave or is that going to be filmed?

Molly Ringwald: Yes, I’m actually already on maternity leave. I shot about 12 episodes and then one day, I shot three episodes in one day, just my part. Then when I come back from maternity leave, then I’m shooting three episodes back; so, just sort of do the catch up. So, everybody else is still filming and I think that they are off in August, but I’ve been off since the end of May.

How do you feel about the show working with you and writing in your real life pregnancy?

Molly Ringwald: I actually preferred that. It was a question as to whether or not they would write it in and I preferred it. I did not want to go through a whole season of walking around with towels in front of me. So, that was something that was discussed and they just decided to go with it. I also just thought that it was interesting considering the fact that my daughter was pregnant in the previous season, having her go through the whole thing again and having my grandchild be older than my new child is kind of funny too. It’s sort of like different.

What about your role continues to challenge you?

Molly Ringwald: Well, it’s constantly interesting for me to play the mother of teenagers just because I’m not really there in my own life. I have a five-year-old and I’m pregnant with twins right now. So, it’s always interesting to me to kind of — it’s like sort of jumping ahead in my life and sort of living what I’m going to be living probably like 10 to 15 years from now. So, that’s always interesting. I feel almost like I’m so known for being a teenager and then all of a sudden, I’m the mother of a teenager. That’s always sort of a real head trip for me.

I think it’s always challenging for me to do a show like this, that I’m used to doing movies and theater and I’ve never really done sort of an episodic show that moves at the fast pace that it goes. So, that’s always really challenging for me.

How does being a mother in real life help you to get into the character of “Anne”?

Molly Ringwald: Well, I think that once you’re a mother, you understand; not to say that people who aren’t mothers can’t play mothers. I think I played mothers before I was actually a mother in my real life, but I think once you experience that, there are just certain things that you just know. There are certain things that you feel comfortable with, a way of touching your child’s head or a way of like wiping dirt off their face. There’s just a way that you have, I think, that you don’t quite — it’s not in your bones, I think, until you actually are a mother.

It’s obviously a little bit different for me because I’m playing the mother of a teenager and in real life, I’m the mother of a five-year-old. So, it’s a little bit different. It’s kind of like looking into a crystal ball into the future. But, I think once you’re a mother, you kind of always see your kids as a baby anyway no matter how old they get.

I remember watching you in teen films like Sixteen Candles and Breakfast Club. How do you think teens are different today as opposed to back in the 1980s?

Molly Ringwald: I don’t really think that they are very different. I mean certain things have changed. Certainly the Internet has changed things a lot and texting and cell phones and all of that, but I think the basic personality and everything that teenagers want and everything that teenagers fear is all the same. It’s just the technology has changed.

Do you think that movies and TV programming in general has evolved for the teenage audience since you played a teenager?

Molly Ringwald: Well, I think it’s gone through different phases. I think The Secret Life of the American Teenager is a little bit more similar to the kinds of movies that I was doing back in the day. In the meantime, there were all kinds of different sort of teen trends. For a while, it was like the teen horror film seemed to be like what it was about. I remember in the 1990s, it was like you couldn’t see a teen movie without it being a horror movie and now it seems to have gotten more back to character-driven pieces. So, I think that’s sort of where we’re at right now.

You started out young as an actor. What is the best advice you’ve given your young costars?

Molly Ringwald: Well, all of my costars on the show really are smart and they really have their head on their shoulders. I try not to give advice. I don’t want to be like that person… giving advice. I think that they’re all doing a great job and they’re all really down to earth and are really nice people. So, I don’t really feel like I need to give them advice.

Have you done anything to help your costars on the set?

Molly Ringwald: I try to be there for them as a fellow actor. I don’t really consider myself a mentor per se unless somebody comes up to me and asks me something specific, but I think that they all really know what they want to do and are doing it. They’re great.

As a family person yourself, as a mother, do you feel like this show is doing a good job of portraying an accurate family, the way that it would be in real life?

Molly Ringwald: I think so. I mean I think that every family is different. I don’t think that there’s any definitive way to portray a family. I think that this is the way that this family functions, but I think obviously it’s different in other families. But, I think that Brenda does a pretty good job of sort of doing that family dynamic — the sort of sibling rivalries, the little arguments. Yes, I think it’s pretty realistic.

Why do you think now was a good time to have a show on TV that dealt with teenage pregnancy?

Molly Ringwald: I don’t know. I mean I didn’t write the show. I think the show was actually like even a couple of years before it was actually set up. So, I guess it was just the right time. There seems to be like a right time for everything and this show happened to premiere like right around the time that Juno that was out and even, of course, with the Palin pregnancy. It just seemed like it was just kind of like the right time. I mean I wouldn’t say that teen pregnancy has not existed before this show. I mean I did a movie about teen pregnancy when I was a teenager. But, I guess it just sort of feels like the right time.

But, the show is not really only about teenage pregnancy. I think that that was an element in the first season, but I think the show is about more than that.

Have you or any of your costars received any negative feedback, or have you received any positive feedback from teens experiencing the same situation?

Molly Ringwald: I’ve only heard positive stuff. I mean the show has an enormous following. So, I mean I’ve only heard positive stuff. I’m sure that there are people that don’t like the show or feel like it’s too graphic or whatever. I’m sure that that exists too. It’s not possible to have something that everybody likes, but as long as it opens a conversation and a dialogue, I think that the show is doing what it’s supposed to.

“Anne” went through a lot in the first season — the divorce and then also going back into the workforce, etc. Were you surprised at what they gave you to do in this first season of the show?

Molly Ringwald: I wasn’t really surprised because Brenda Hampton was very open to my input and sort of along the way, she would ask me how I felt about certain things, what kind of career I was interested in. I mean she’s really great at writing for her actors and getting to know them and figuring out what they do best. And so, along the way, I was kind of let in on where my character was going and was really a nice way to work. She’s really good at sort of figuring out what people are good at and capitalizing on that.

What can we expect this season from your character?

Molly Ringwald: Well, my family goes through — at the end of the last season, obviously I was leaving my husband and then at the beginning of this season, I find out that I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant in real life as well. So, that’s sort of what my character’s dealing with this season is pregnancy and sort of going through the same thing that I just went through with my daughter in the season prior.

Tune in to see Molly Ringwald on The Secret Life of the American Teenager Monday nights on ABC Family or on ABCFamily.com.