The Brat Pack was a moniker created by journalist David Blum in a 1985 piece for New York Magazine — originally set to be a profile following Emilio Estevez. The article made waves by giving Hollywood’s young movie stars a name — but it took the stars a long time to appreciate their nickname
“It’s come to be known as this sort of wonderfully iconic, affectionate term over the centuries since it happened,” Andrew McCarthy exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2024, while promoting his Brats documentary about the iconic group. He explained that the actors labeled as members of the Brat Pack — including himself, Estevez, Rob Lowe and Molly Ringwald, among others — didn’t see it that way.
“We felt sort of, in a weird way, very alone in this thing because we interpreted it as one thing and the whole rest of the public interpreted it entirely differently,” McCarthy continued. “That’s all any of us ever want in life is to be seen, and we suddenly felt unseen in a certain way.”
While the Brat Pack has become this nostalgic name, McCarthy recalled being perceived as “punks” after the initial article was released.
“At the beginning, we really despised [the name] and now I’ve come to see it really is this huge blessing in my life,” he added.
Keep scrolling to see photos of the Brat Pack over the years: