He was the boy every girl swooned over and every teen idolized in the ’80s — the kind of face that seemed to belong on posters, lunchboxes, and magazine covers.

With tousled dark hair, a disarming smile, and a quiet charm, he made awkward high school crushes feel personal.

But behind the perfectly framed photos and the heartthrob persona, a darker story was unfolding.

Totally unprepared for the stardom
Known for iconic 1980s films like St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink, Mannequin (1987), and later Weekend at Bernie’s, this actor quickly became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable young stars.

But he was born just a regular kid in 1962, in Westfield, New Jersey, the third of four boys. His mother worked at a newspaper, and his father dealt in investments and stocks – a typical, hardworking family far removed from the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown.
“I was totally unprepared for any kind of success when I was a young person. I didn’t know anyone who was successful in that way in show business, or famous,” he once shared. “I also temperamentally wasn’t particularly suited for it. Attention made me recoil.”

During his high school years, it became clear that this future star had a strong passion for performing. But his school years weren’t exactly smooth sailing.

“I just felt sort of very lonely at school. I just didn’t feel like I belonged there,” he once said.

After graduating, he enrolled at NYU to study acting, though he was expelled after two years.

“I didn’t really go [to class],” as he later put it.