Hollywood Child Stars

Tatum O'Neal Films, Television and Appearances

A lot of praise should be given to an actress who manages to win an Academy award for Best Supporting Actress in her very first film. Tatum O’Neal did just that in 1974. She was only ten years old! Tatum acquired the award-winning role of Addie Loggins in “Paper Moon” with the help of her father, Ryan O’Neal, whose character in the film had a daughter. After this great success, Tatum moved on to “The Bad News Bears” (1976) where she played the part of Amanda Whurlitzer, an eleven year-old tomboy on a baseball team which primarily consisted of boys. The film was very successful at the box-office, making O’Neal two for two in her film career. Her next film was “Nickelodeon” (1976) which paired her once again with her father. Although she did an excellent job playing the character of Alice Forsyte, the movie was not a gigantic hit at the box-office. After doing a number of other films, Tatum O’Neal took a long break from acting when she married professional tennis player, John McEnroe. Even after their marriage ended in divorce, O’Neal did not act in many films in the 1990’s. Instead, she took her talent to the small screen and made numerous appearances in a variety of television shows in the early 2000’s.

In addition to making special guest appearances on television shows such as, “Sex and the City,” “8 Simple Rules…for Dating My Teenage Daughter,” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” Tatum O’Neal began to take on more serious television roles. In 2005, she got to play an important character on the show, “Rescue Me.” She plays Maggie, sister to the star of the show, Tommy Gavin, who is played by Golden Globe winning actor, Dennis Leary. Maggie is married to a firefighter who works with her brother. The show received great reviews and is still going strong as of 2008. In 2006, she opted for something different and participated in the reality show “Dancing with the Stars.” Her partner was Nick Kosovich, 2005 World American Ballroom Champion. She was not happy about being eliminated and later attacked the judges in an interview with Access Hollywood. In 2006, Tatum starred in “Wicked Wicked Games” as Blythe Hunter, a deceiving woman hell-bent on revenge against her husband, who left her for a wealthier woman. The television show ended after a good number of episodes. Now Tatum is set to challenge the big screen again as Grace in the 2008 film, “Saving Grace.”

The following is a quote from Tatum O’Neal’s interview with Access Hollywood with regard to the attitudes of the judges of “Dancing with the Stars”: “This is not helping to encourage people to learn to dance. This is about some brutality and shaming. Put that in your Access Hollywood and smoke it."

Filmography

1973: Paper Moon
1976: The Bad News Bears
Nickelodeon
1978: International Velvet
1980: Circle of Two
Little Darlings
1981: Prisoners
1985: Certain Fury
1992: Little Noises
1996: Basquiat
2002: The Scoundrel's Wife
2003: The Technical Writer
2006: My Brother
2008: Saving Grace

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