Best known for her role in the 1985 hit "The Breakfast Club," Ally Sheedy's acting career slowed down dramatically after bouts with substance abuse and eating disorders took there toll.

Born in 1962, Sheedy is the oldest of three children.  Her father was an advertising executive and her mother was a literary agent.  Sheedy had always been creative and wrote a best-selling children's book "She Was Nice To Mice" at the age of 12.

Sheedy first started acting at the age of 15 in Burger King commercials and for the next three years she also did broadway productions.

She made her big screen debut in the 1983 film Bad Boys with Sean Penn, she later appeared in "St. Elmo's Fire" and "The Breakfast Club."  These biggest were bit hits in the 1980's.

One of her biggest career mistakes was probably turning down the Kelly McGillis role in "Top Gun" (1986).

It was after her 1987 flim flop "Maid To Order," that Sheedy developed a serious eating disorder.  At one point she was also addicted to pain killer medications.

She met and married her husband David Lansbury in 1992  and the two had a daughter, Rebecca, in 1994.

Where has she been doing lately?

Ally Sheedy spends most of her time these days caring for child, but has also trying to revive her acting career by acting in independant films.

She has won Best Actress awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics' Circle and other institutes for her performance in the 1998 film "High Art."