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By Patrick Day, Deborah Netburn and Rebecca Snavely, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers The young actors and actresses whose careers John Hughes helped launch have continued to grow and thrive. Some of them are still famous enough that we don't need a refresher -- who doesn't know that Matthew Broderick starred on Broadway in Mel Brooks' "The Producers"? But some of the biggest stars of the Hughes era have dropped a bit below the radar in recent years. Nearly 24 years since the premiere of the first feature Hughes directed, "Sixteen Candles," we catch up with Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson and others. (Universal) Related Content John Hughes dies at 59; writer-director of '80s teen films John Hughes: The soundtrack to a generation

Contents: 1.   2. Eric Stoltz 3. Lea Thompson 4. Mary Stuart Masterson 5. Molly Ringwald 6. Judd Nelson 7. Mia Sara 8. Macaulay Culkin 9. Alan Ruck 10. Michael Schoeffling 11. Ilan Mitchell-Smith 12. Gedde Watanabe

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