Andrew McCarthy grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, until he was 15. He then moved to Bernardsville, and attended a prep school called the Pingry School, where he performed in plays and musicals and played basketball. At 18, he went to New York University as a theatre major and wound up as the lead in the 1983 film Class. He also studied at the Circle in Square Theater School in New York. He has been in several on and off Broadway shows, such as 'Long Day's Journey', as well as over 40 movies. He continues to show his talented acting abilities in upcoming movies and shows.
He appeared in John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" music video. Started smoking during the filming of St. Elmo's Fire (his character smoked). Has since quit. Brother of writer/director Justin McCarthy As soon as filming had finished for the movie Pretty in Pink, he was signed on to play the lead in Less Than Zero. As it happened, at the last moment, John Hughes (director of Pretty in Pink) decided he wanted to change the ending at the last minute (to what it currently is), but Andrew had already shaved his head for his next role. To solve this problem, Mr. Hughes had him don a wig for the last scene of Pretty in Pink. Ended up marrying his college sweetheart, Carol Schneider, 20 years after they first dated. Has a son, with Carol Schneider, born in 2002. Is an avid and competent pool player. Has worked alongside fellow actor James Spader in three previous films: Pretty in Pink, Mannequin and Less Than Zero When the ending to Pretty in Pink was re-shot, all of the principal actors had to be called back. Andrew McCarthy had already lost a substantial amount of weight and shaved his head for a new role in a New York play called "The Boys of Winter." Although he wore an auburn wig, he's noticeably more gaunt in the reshot scenes. Was one of the nine original members of the 1980s "brat pack", along with Judd Nelson, Mare Winningham, Anthony Michael Hall, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy