See the Orphans From ‘Annie’ Then and Now
All the orphans from the movie ‘Annie’ lived a hard knock life — considering audience members really only gave their two-cents to the title character — and were always looking forward to tomorrow. By the end of the flick, it looked like they had a brighter future, but what really happened to those orphans from the 1982 movie ‘Annie’?
Most of the adults went on to, or continued doing, big things in film and television. We know Carol Burnett, Albert Finney, Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters. But, what happened to all those little girls (including Annie herself)? Who and where are they now? Fortunately, we don’t have to search too far and wide to find out.
In 2006, a documentary film maker produced a film called ‘Life After Tomorrow’ to show the world what life was like when Little Orphan Annie and all her orphan sisters grew up. The film documents the journeys of women who were in Broadway and touring productions, as well as women who starred in ‘Annie.’ It even includes an appearance by Sarah Jessica Parker, who played the title role on Broadway.
But we wanted to find out whatever happened to all the little girls from the movie, since we don’t feel like we really see them around much in the world of entertainment celebrities. We loved them as scrappy little girls with dust on their noses and we’re sure they’re fully dressed now. But where are they?
Annie, Aileen Quinn
After playing the adorable little orphan Annie, Aileen Quinn went on to star in another, though less popular, musical movie called ‘The Frog Prince.’ She was then in a TV movie and afterwards virtually disappeared. She spent the late ’90s doing off-Broadway shows, in a production of ‘Peter Pan’ on Broadway and she was featured in a few independent films, including 2010’s ‘Multiple Sarcasms’ starring Mira Sorvino.
Currently, she’s the lead singer of the LA-based rockabilly band Leapin’ Lizards and is working on her own original material. After the ‘Annie’ movie soundtrack album went platinum in 1982, Quinn released an album of her own that is extremely rare. There are likely fewer than a dozen copies of the LP in existence.
Molly, Toni Ann Gisondi (Pugliese)
Little Molly was probably everyone’s favorite. She was the runt of the orphan litter and endearingly adorable. And her rendition of ‘You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile’ has never been matched. Unfortunately, she has no other film credits after ‘Annie.’ Grown-up Molly has two daughters, one of whom is named Molly. She works as a substitute teacher and sings at weddings, so if you’re lucky you still may be able to see her sing that signature song.
Pepper, Rosanne Sorrentino (Kavanagh)
Rosanne Sorrentino, who played Pepper in ‘Annie,’ was another orphan who didn’t continue to do film work. Before making the movie, she was a stage actor, having played Annie in the national tour of the show. She was too old to cast as Annie in the movie, so the studio cast her as Pepper instead. The only other place you’ll see her is in the ‘Life After Tomorrow’ documentary, or if you’re taking middle school computer classes. She is married, has two daughters and teaches.
Tessie, Lara Berk
After playing Tessie, Lara Berk tried her hand at Hollywood. In 1984, she played Kiki Dumont in the movie ‘Preppies.’ The flick didn’t seem to have made a big impression on the movie-going audiences and with a description like, “Three sexy young women are hired to ensure that three college students don’t pass their final exams, which would preclude one of them from inheriting a family fortune,” we can see why. These days, she’s married with two kids and works as a legal recruiter.
Kate, April Lerman
April Lerman seems to be the former orphan with the most Hollywood experience under her belt. After ‘Annie,’ she played the boy crazy Lila Pembroke on ‘Charles In Charge,’ but was replaced after the first season. She guest starred on other classic ’80s shows like ‘Kate and Allie,’ ‘Growing Pains’ and ‘Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.’ She also participated in the ‘Life After Tomorrow’ documentary.
Lerman later gave up her acting career and got a law degree at Pepperdine. She was admitted to the California Bar, but never practiced. She is married, has one son and is currently working as a child psychologist.
Duffy, Robin Ignico
Scrappy Duffy was played by Robin Ignico, who also continued to do some acting work in the ’80s. She was a regular on the ‘Trapper John, M.D.’ TV series and guest starred on other shows like ‘Voyagers!,’ ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ and ‘Matt Houston.’ She also appeared in a few made-for-TV movies. Ignico’s last big achievement, however, was working alongside Gene Wilder and Kelly LeBrock in the 1984 movie ‘The Woman in Red.’ She quit acting in the late ’80s and now works as a Tenant Relations Manager.