Where The St. Elmo's Fire Cast Members Are Now

The 1980s were fueled by the "Brat Pack," a group of young actors who became known for starring in some of the most prominent coming-of-age films of all time. While many of those movies focused on high school students, Joel Schumacher's "St. Elmo's Fire" followed a group of friends after they graduated from Georgetown University in 1985. The movie starred Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Mare Winningham as the tight-knit group of pals, in addition to Andie MacDowell. 

"St. Elmo's Fire" wasn't as well-received as the other Brat Pack films of the era. The characters were not exactly likable, which was a major criticism of the film when it was released. Unfortunately, the characters' antics have only aged more poorly over time. These days, you'll find Reddit threads devoted to the movie being "terrible," and the film's stars have even spoken out against their unlikable roles. Estevez, Nelson, and Sheedy all starred in "The Breakfast Club" the same year as "St. Elmo's Fire," and Estevez has explained why he thinks the former turned out better. 

Despite being a divisive project, "St. Elmo's Fire" helped define a generation of stars. The film's entire main cast went on to have interesting careers, and most of them are still working today. Here is where the "St. Elmo's Fire" cast is now, 40 years after the film's release.

Andrew McCarthy had a few credits under his belt before starring in "St. Elmo's Fire," which helped solidify his place in the Brat Pack. In the film, McCarthy played Kevin Dolenz, a morose writer for The Washington Post who was secretly in love with Leslie (Ally Sheedy). Unfortunately for Kevin, his crush was engaged to Alec (Judd Nelson).

In the '80s, McCarthy went on to star in "Pretty in Pink," "Mannequin," "Less Than Zero," and "Weekend at Bernie's." He made his Broadway debut in 1985 in the original cast of "The Boys of Winter." His later film credits include "Year of the Gun," "The Joy Luck Club," "Bela Donna," "Perfect Assassins," "The Spiderwick Chronicles," and more. His TV credits include "Monk," "Lipstick Jungle," "Gossip Girl," "The Family," "13 Reasons Why," and "The Resident" (see above). 

McCarthy also started directing in the 2000s. He helmed episodes of "White Collar," "Gossip Girl," "Grace and Frankie," "Halt and Catch Fire," and 26 episodes of "The Blacklist." His latest project was directing the 2024 documentary "Brats," which followed the Brat Pack and chronicled how the stars dealt with fame at a young age. The documentary was a follow-up to McCarthy's 2021 book, "Brat: An '80s Story, Pretty In Pink, and '80s Nostalgia." 

"I don't think I ever looked back on that time with any affection for myself until I wrote the book," he told /Film in 2022.

Mare Winningham had been working consistently in Hollywood for nearly a decade before landing the role of Wendy Beamish in "St. Elmo's Fire." She already had an Emmy Award for "Amber of Waves" and would earn more accolades throughout her career. As for the character Wendy, she was a social worker dependent on her rich family, who had it bad for Billy (Rob Lowe). Despite the fact that he was married with a kid, Billy had trouble letting go of his frat boy life, and often took advantage of Wendy's generosity.

Winningham went on to earn Emmy nominations for her performances in "Love Is Never Silent," "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," "Mildred Pierce,"  "Hatfield & McCoys," and "Dopesick." In 1998, she won her second Emmy for "The Boys Next Door." She was nominated for an Academy Award for "Georgia" in 1996. Her film credits also include "Turner & Hooch," "Philomena," and "Miracle Mile," which best captures the surreal terror of the L.A. fires that occurred in 2025.

Throughout her career, Winningham was also nominated for two Tony Awards, including a nod for the Bob Dylan jukebox musical, "Girl from the North Country," which was filmed for PBS (see above).  

When it comes to the Brat Pack films released in 1985, Judd Nelson was better known for starring as John Bender in "The Breakfast Club." However, some still know him as Alec Newbary from "St. Elmo's Fire." Alec was a yuppie trying to pursue a career in politics, who stirs up drama within the group when he is unfaithful to his girlfriend, Leslie (Ally Sheedy). 

Nelson went on to lend his voice to "The Transformers: The Movie" and reunited with Sheedy for the third time in "Blue City." His film credits also include "From the Hip," "Relentless," "New Jack City," "Airheads," and "Steel." He experienced a career resurgence when the sitcom "Suddenly Susan" debuted in 1996, but he left the show ahead of its fourth season. 

Despite claims that Nelson has disappeared from Hollywood, he has been in many projects since "Suddenly Susan" ended. He guest-starred in episodes of "Outer Limits," "Las Vegas," "Psych," "Two and a Half Men," "Empire," and played a big role in the final season of "Nikita." In recent years, most of Nelson's credits have been direct-to-video productions. He also returned to voice Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in the animated web series "Transformers: Titans Return" in 2017, 30 years after he voiced the character in the Transformers animated film. Nelson's most recent credit is the 2025 independent movie, "The Final Run" (see above). 

Nelson has also written four books: "The Power of Speech," "Nine of Diamonds," "The Gig," and "Water Music."

Ally Sheedy had already made "WarGames" and "Oxford Blues" before becoming one of the three actors who starred in the two big Brat Pack films of 1985. "St. Elmo's Fire" may not have had the same staying power, but even Sheedy has admitted she is surprised that "The Breakfast Club" has remained so beloved. In "St. Elmo's Fire," Sheedy played Leslie Hunter, an up-and-coming architect who is hesitant to marry her boyfriend. 

Sheedy went on to make the films "Short Circuit," "Man's Best Friend," "Betsy's Wedding," "High Art," and more. She also had cameos in the John Hughes-directed film "She's Having a Baby" and the Hughes-written film "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" as well as "X-Men Apocalypse." From 2022 to 2023, she starred in the series "Single Drunk Female," which told a story of sobriety with a different point of view. Her most recent credits include an episode of "Wild Cards" (see above) and the Audible original series, "Summer Breeze."

Since 2021, Sheedy has worked as a professor in the theatre department at the City College of New York. 

As the son of Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez got his start in the business quite young, but rose to fame in the early '80s thanks to projects like "The Outsiders" and "Repo Man." Estevez is the third and final actor from this list who starred in "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmo's Fire" in 1985. In the latter film, he played Kirby Keager, a law student and waiter at St. Elmo's Bar who becomes enamoured with a hospital intern named Dale (Andie MacDowell).

Estevez went on to make "Maximum Overdrive," "Young Guns," "The Mighty Ducks," "Loaded Weapon 1," "Mission: Impossible," "Bobby," and "The Way." Estevez disappeared from Hollywood for a while and has only had four acting credits in the last 15 years. That includes the first season of the Disney+ series, "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers," which saw him returning as Gordon Bombay (see above). However, Estevez did not come back for the show's second season. There were rumors that the actor refused to return due to COVID-19 restrictions, but he shut those down. "I am not anti-vaxx. Full stop ... My exit from the show was due to a myriad of creative differences — any other narrative is false," he said in a statement (via Deadline).

Estevez also has numerous writing and directing credits to his name. He helmed and wrote the films "Wisdom," "Men at Work," "Bobby," "The Way," and more. He also directed episodes of "Cold Case," "CSI: NY," and more. His most recent writer/director/actor credit was for "The Public" in 2018. Currently, Estevez is working on a sequel to "The Way," which is in pre-production.

Andie MacDowell is the only actor on this list who was not a part of the main friend group in "St. Elmo's Fire." She played Dale Biberman, a hospital intern who was pursued romantically by Estevez's Kirby. The film marked MacDowell's second-ever acting credit after "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes." 

Since appearing in the Brat Pack film, MacDowell has gone on to have an incredibly successful career. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," "Green Card," "Four Weddings and a Funeral," and "Maid." She and the entire ensemble of "Short Cuts" were given the non-competitive "Special Award" Golden Globe in 1994 for the film's unique achievements. She received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" in 1990. 

MacDowell's film credits also include "Hudson Hawk," "The Player," "Groundhog Day," "Multiplicity," "Muppets From Space," "Town & Country," "Maguc Mike XXL," "Ready or Not," and more. 

In 2021, MacDowell appeared in "Maid" alongside her real-life daughter, Margaret Qualley. MacDowell's most recent acting credit is the Hallmark series "The Way Home" (see above). She's also produced a handful of Hallmark projects in recent years and has multiple things in the works.  

Rob Lowe is definitely one of the most famous faces from the "St. Elmo's Fire" cast. Before the 1985 film, he appeared in "The Outsiders" with Estevez and "Oxford Blues" with Sheedy, and he already had a Golden Globe nomination under his belt for "Thursday's Child." In "St. Elmo's Fire," he played William "Billy" Hicks, a saxophonist struggling to grow up and accept his responsibilities as a husband and father. 

Lowe went on to have a diverse career. His film credits over the years have included "Youngblood," "Wayne's World," "Tommy Boy," "Contact," "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," and "Thank You For Smoking." Lowe has starred in some big television shows, including playing Sam Seaborn on "The West Wing." However, he ended up leaving the show during its peak. His other TV credits include "Salem's Lot," "Dr. Vegas," "Brothers & Sisters," "Parks and Recreation," "The Grinder," "Code Black," and "9-1-1: Lone Star" (see above).

Throughout his career, Lowe was nominated for five more Golden Globes for his performances in "Square Dance," "The West Wing," "Behind the Candelabra," and "The Grinder." He also has a SAG Award (which has since been renamed the Actor Award) for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for "The West Wing." Lowe was nominated for an Emmy Award for "The West Wing" in 2001. 

Lowe has many producer credits to his name and co-created the Netflix series, "Unstable," which he starred in with his son, John Owen Lowe.  

Demi Moore is still thriving in Hollywood 40 years after the release of "St. Elmo's Fire." She was already known for playing Jackie Templeton on "General Hospital" when she was cast as Julianna "Jules" Van Patten, an international banker and the party girl of the "St. Elmo's Fire" friend group who starts to spin out of control in the film.

Moore went on to star in "About Last Night," "One Crazy Summer," "Ghost," "A Few Good Men," "The Scarlet Letter," "Now and Then," "The Juror," "Striptease," "G.I. Jane," "Indecent Proposal," "Deconstructing Harry," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and "Please Baby Please." She also appeared in some of Estevez's films, including "Wisdom" and "Bobby." Her TV credits have included an episode of "Moonlighting" alongside her former husband, Bruce Willis. She has also appeared in "Feud," "Empire," and "Landman."

Moore's most recent claim to fame is Coraline Fargeat's film, "The Substance" (see above), which is considered by many to be her best performance. Moore received her first Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations for the film. During the 2025 awards season, she took home the prizes from the SAG Awards (now renamed the Actor Awards), the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and more. She was previously nominated for Golden Globes for "Ghost" and "If These Walls Could Talk," which also earned her an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Made for Television Movie" in 1997.

In 2019, Moore's memoir, "Inside Out," reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2025, People named Moore the most beautiful woman in the world. In 2026, Moore is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.