Strollerderby

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Gummi Bear Girl?

Posted by Jen Chaney

Twenty-three years ago, she offered a "warm and soft" gummi bear to a defeated high school principal while riding an Illinois school bus in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." As a result, she has been dubbed the "gummi bear girl" -- or as IMDB calls her in a slight improvement, "Girl on Bus." But young actress Polly Noonan went on to do more impressive things than merely offering sweet, squishy candy to older men in John Hughes movies.

Noonan, who now lives in New York City, has remained committed to the craft of acting. Her film credits may be few; most notably, she appeared with Johnny Depp in a little-seen film called "Arizona Dream" and, later, in the Steve Martin film "Novocaine." But Noonan has made a real name for herself in the theater.

She has spent many years appearing in plays written by Sara Ruhl, including "Passion Play" and "Dead Man's Cell Phone," both of which earned her Helen Hayes Award nominations when the productions ran in Washington, D.C. This bio from her stint in Steppenwolf Theatre's production of "Dead Man's Cell Phone" in Chicago lists a number of her other extensive theater credits.

Also, in a fascinating side note, Noonan can be spotted (partially) on the cover of the Lemonheads album "It's a Shame About Ray." Her voice can be heard on the eleventh track of the Lemonheads release that preceded "Ray," "Lovey."

I wasn't able to figure out what exactly she's up to at this moment in time. (She was in a production of "Cell Phone" in Florida earlier this year.) But the fact that she went from wearing ridiculously horrendous Coke bottle specs in "Ferris Bueller" to becoming a serious, working stage actress is enough of a reason to take some time to celebrate what she's accomplished.

 

Related Links:

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Edward Furlong?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the 'Young Tom Hanks' From 'Big'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Staci Keanan?

Images: 80s.com and chicagomag.com


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About Jen Chaney

Jen Chaney is the movies editor and a DVD columnist for washingtonpost.com. Her byline has appeared in The Washington Post, People magazine, USA Today and the Utne Reader as well as various other newspapers around the country. She is the mother of a one-year-old boy, who has not yet learned the word Xanadu. But he will. Trust us, he will.

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