Tatum O'Neal
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Tatum O'Neal accepting her 1973 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Paper Moon |
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born
November 5,
1963 in
Los Angeles, California) is an
Academy Award-winning
American actress best known for her film work as a child actress in the 1970s.
O'Neal was born into the motion picture family of actor
Ryan O'Neal (of mostly
Irish ancestry) and actress
Joanna Moore (of mostly
English descent). Her brother,
Griffin, was born in
1964. In
1967 her parents divorced , but they remained very close. Her father married actress
Leigh Taylor-Young, the mother of her half-brother, Patrick (who was married to actress
Rebecca DeMornay). Tatum's mother died in
1997 of lung cancer at age 63 after a reasonably successful career in which she had appeared in such movies as
Touch of Evil.
After struggling with
leukemia, Ryan reunited with his former common-law spouse,
Farrah Fawcett, after many years of separation.
Troubled childhood
In her autobiography called
A Paper Life, Tatum O'Neal alleged that she had been the victim of child molestation by a male friend of her father's. Tatum also alleges physical and emotional abuse from her father, much of which she attributes to drug use. She later claimed being dragged to an Opium inspired orgy by
Melanie Griffith when she was 12 years old.
Academy Award as a child
In 1974, Tatum O'Neal became the youngest person ever to receive the
Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in
Paper Moon. This controversial movie which also featured her real-life father as a con-man, portrayed young Tatum as a child in the company of a crook who was being further tutored in a life of crime and corruption. The motion picture was financed by
Herbert W. Armstrong's
Ambassador International Cultural Foundation.
Other roles
Other movies starring O'Neal include
The Bad News Bears,
Nickelodeon (both 1976),
International Velvet (1978), and
Little Darlings (1980). Her acting career took a backseat to her personal troubles for many years, but in 2005 she began a recurring role as Maggie Gavin on the firehouse drama series
Rescue Me, portraying the unbalanced and lively sister of Tommy Gavin played by
Denis Leary . O'Neal's character is engaged to be married to a firefighter in her brother's firehouse.
In January 2006, she participated in the second season of
ABC's smash reality series
Dancing with the Stars but was the second contestant to be eliminated in the second round. She went on to do commentary for the series on
Entertainment Tonight.
Marriage
In 1986, O'Neal wed multi-millionaire tennis superstar
John McEnroe, and the couple had three children: Kevin, Sean, and Emily.
Following their divorce in 1992, she took up residence in
New York City. McEnroe, who in 1997 married musician
Patty Smyth, and O'Neal share joint custody of the children.
Paper Moon (1973)
The Bad News Bears (1976)
Nickelodeon (1976)
International Velvet (1978)
Circle of Two (1980)
Little Darlings (1980)
Prisoners (1981)
Certain Fury (1985)
Little Noises (1991)
Basquiat (1996)
The Scoundrel's Wife (2002)
The Technical Writer (2003)
Rescue Me (2005)
Tatum O'Neal autobiography: A Paper Life'' - ISBN 0060540974.
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When Young Stars Burn Out MSN Movies
