Well, to be honest, I don't think her acting skills were that terrific. I mean, she's an actress, she can act, has talent, no question about that. But she's not in the first rank of actresses.
Which is actually good, because the best actresses (I'm thinking of Laura Dern, perhaps, or Jodi Foster) are often whack jobs.
I think Molly Ringwald was at her best when she was basically playing herself. That is, playing the part of a teenager who was very much a copy of Molly Ringwald.
That's not unusual in Hollywood. Lots of actors get famous and make a lot of money playing themselves.
Another one in that mold is Jennifer Gray. Too bad about the nose thing.
Arguably the single most ill-advised piece of plastic surgery ever. And that's saying something.