Hollywood Child Stars

Tatum O'Neal Biography

Actress Tatum O’Neal was born on November 5th, 1963, in Los Angeles, California. She was destined to be a movie star as her parents, Ryan O’Neal and Joanna Cook Moore, were an important part of the Hollywood celebrity circle at the time of her birth. Her father starred in a number of films, one of which was “Love Story,” for which he won an academy award for best actor. His other memorable movies were “What’s Up, Doc?” and “Paper Moon,” which portrayed beautiful Tatum in her film debut. Her mother appeared in many films as well, her most famous being “Touch of Evil”, a film noir classic where she co-acted with legends such as Orson Welles and Charlton Heston. Her brother Griffin was born in 1964; shortly after, in 1967, her parents divorced. Her father went on to marry actress Leigh Taylor-Young, a marriage that produced her half-brother Patrick. Her other half-brother Redmond is a result of her father’s famous relationship with actress Farrah Fawcett. In 1997, Tatum’s mother passed away from lung cancer at the age of sixty-three.

Personal Life
Although Tatum O’Neal has had a very successful career as an actress, she has faced countless obstacles in her personal life. In her autobiography entitled “A Paper Life,” she talks about the hardships she encountered. She speaks candidly of her parents and reveals that, due to their constant drug use, they abused her and her brother emotionally and physically by neglecting them. She also states that she started doing drugs as well, leading her to contemplate suicide. Despite the difficult steps she undertook to recover, as described in the final chapter of her book, Tatum fell back into drugs after the release of her autobiography. However, she has been on the road to recovery since June 2008, and discussed her problem with addiction on “Oprah” in September 2008.

Before getting married, Tatum O’Neal had a brief relationship with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Their relationship ended in 1979 because O’Neal’s manager thought it was not suitable for her to be involved with a black man. Years later, it was revealed by Michael that Tatum was his first love. In 1986, she married professional tennis player John McEnroe. They had three children: Kevin, Sean, and Emily before splitting in 1992, and finally filing for divorce in 1994. She relapsed into her drug habit after the divorce, and eventually lost custody of her children to McEnroe due to her addiction.

Career
As of 2008, Tatum O’Neal holds a record for being the youngest actor to win an academy award. In 1974, she won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film “Paper Moon.” She continued to star in other films over the years such as “Little Darlings,” “Nickelodeon,” and “The Bad News Bears.” O’Neal gave up acting for a number of years when she married McEnroe. When she did return to acting, most of her work consisted of special guest appearances on hit television shows. It was not until 2005 that she landed a role on the hit drama series “Rescue Me,” co-starring with actor Dennis Leary. In addition to her ongoing work on “Rescue Me,” Tatum took part in the popular celebrity television show “Dancing with the Stars” in 2006. Unfortunately, she was eliminated in the second round and was upset at being eliminated before rapper Master P. From 2006 to late 2007, she was the star in the television show “Wicked Wicked Games,” in which she played the malicious Blythe Hunter. Tatum is set to star in the film “Saving Grace” in 2008.

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