Andrew McCarthy Bio

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Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in St. Elmo's Fire and Pretty in Pink in the 1980s and more recently for his role in the TV show Lipstick Jungle.

Andrew McCarthy: Biography

Andrew McCarthy - Early life

McCarthy was born in New York City, New York. He grew up in Westfield, New Jersey before moving to Bernardsville, New Jersey where he attended Bernards High School prior to attending The Pingry School. While enrolled at the preparatory school, McCarthy took to acting in plays and musicals and playing on the school's basketball team. When he graduated, McCarthy enrolled in New York University as a theater major. This led to his first film role as the lead in the 1983 film Class.

Andrew McCarthy - Career

McCarthy gained recognition in Hollywood during the 1980s. His classic, clean-cut good looks continually had him placed as the sincere and kind leading man. As McCarthy's career grew, he involuntarily became a member of the '80s Hollywood group of young actors known as the "Brat Pack"; McCarthy's better-known films include the Brat Pack films St. Elmo's Fire and Pretty in Pink. During the filming of St. Elmo's Fire, McCarthy took up smoking. He was unable to kick the habit until 1995. Years after the filming of Pretty in Pink, co-star and fellow Brat Pack member Molly Ringwald admitted to having a huge crush on Andrew during the filming. She found him "incredibly cute" and "dreamy." In 1985 McCarthy did his best to escape Hollywood by making his Broadway debut in The Boys of Winter. He eventually returned to Hollywood to perform. As the '90s neared, McCarthy's career began to falter. He starred in several disappointing films that were unable to captivate audiences, such as Fresh Horses and Kansas. Although his 1989 comedy film Weekend at Bernie's was a hit, it failed to lift his career back up. In 1993, he had a supporting role in the critically-acclaimed The Joy Luck Club.

He returned to Broadway Theater to star in Side Man. In 2003, McCarthy was set to guest star in two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. However, due to bad relations with actor Vincent D'Onofrio, series creator Dick Wolf decided against it. Wolf later stated, "Mr. McCarthy engaged in fractious behavior from the moment he walked on the set." McCarthy fired back in a statement of his own saying, "I was fired because I refused to allow a fellow actor to threaten me with physical violence, bully me and try to direct me." Despite this incident, he later guest starred in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent that originally aired in November 2007. In 2004, he returned to prominence playing Dr. Hook in Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. Since 2005 he has appeared with some regularity in episodes of the TV show E-Ring. In 2008 he starred in the NBC television series Lipstick Jungle as a billionaire, but was eventually cancelled, and had a minor role in The Spiderwick Chronicles. He's ranked #40 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars.

Andrew McCarthy - Personal life

In 1999, McCarthy married his college sweetheart Carol Schneider, 20 years after they first dated. He later stated his reasons for tracking down Schneider: "I ran into someone who said they had seen Carol and her boyfriend and they seemed really happy, and for some reason it bothered me for a week. I called her and asked her if she was really with this guy and asked her out for a coffee." In 2002, Schneider gave birth to their son, Sam McCarthy. In 2005, the couple divorced. His current partner, Dolores Rice had their daughter Willow in 2006.

In 2004, he announced that he had once had a serious alcohol problem, which began at twelve years of age. However, in 1992 he entered detox and has been sober since.