We all know about the current fortunes of prominent 1980s teen movie babes like Jamie Gertz, poor Kim Richards or (the above pictured) Lea Thompson but what about some of the other ladies from that era who haven’t kept that high a profile? Well I have wondered about several of them even if you folks haven’t and behind the cut is my update on 5 of my favorite ladies from some of my favorite teen movies from the 80s.

Diane Franklin

Best Known For: LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN, BETTER OFF DEAD

For the longest time I thought Diane Franklin was French based off the really bad accent she used in BETTER OFF DEAD but I was a kid when I saw that movie and the whole French exchange student thing stayed with me. Franklin also was the soul crushing female object of unrequited love in the classic teen movie LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN. She was not the most conventional looking teen movie female lead with her dark features and curly hair but I thought she was just the cutest thing ever.

Nowadays Diane is married to writer/producer Ray De Laurentis (the guy has written a ton of kids shows) and they have two children, one of whom is an actress herself. Diane wrote a memoir a few years ago called Diane Franklin: The Excellent Adventures of the Last American, French Exchange Babe of the 80s and she hosts an online radio interview show called Diane Franklin, Babes of the 80s, for CultRadioaGoGo.com site