Tatum O'Neal

Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress best known for her film work as a child actress in the 1970s. She remains, at the age of 10, the youngest actor to win a competitive Academy Award.

Family background

O'Neal was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actors Ryan O'Neal and Joanna Cook Moore, who had appeared in various motion pictures with Ryan O'Neal. Her brother, Griffin, was born in 1964. In 1967, her parents divorced. Her father married actress Leigh Taylor-Young, a marriage which produced her half-brother, Patrick. She also has another half-brother, Redmond, from Ryan O'Neal's relationship with actress Farrah Fawcett. Tatum's mother died in 1997 of lung cancer at age 63, after a career in which she had appeared in such movies as Touch of Evil.

Career

Child actress

O'Neal after winning the Oscar in 1974

In 1974, Tatum O'Neal became the youngest person ever to win a competitive Academy Award, a record that still stands as of 2009. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress for her performance in Paper Moon. O'Neal played the role of Addie Loggins, a child con artist being tutored by a Depression-era grifter played by her father, Ryan. She was 10 years old at the time she won the award.

During her childhood and teenage years, O'Neal starred in notable films such as The Bad News Bears (1976) with Walter Matthau, International Velvet (1978) with Christopher Plummer and Anthony Hopkins, and Little Darlings (1980) with Kristy McNichol. She also appeared in the less-successful film Nickelodeon (1976) with her father Ryan, and did a nude scene in Circle of Two (1980) with Richard Burton. She appeared as the title character in the Faerie Tale Theatre episode Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1984).

Adult career

O'Neal's acting career took a backseat to her marriage to John McEnroe, a professional tennis player, for many years. She would appear in only five films during the next 15 years. One notable role of hers was in Basquiat (1996).

In the early 2000s, O'Neal began acting more frequently and made guest appearances on Sex and the City, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. In 2005, O'Neal 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.

In January 2006, she participated in the second season of ABC's reality series Dancing with the Stars but was eliminated in the second round. She went on to do commentary for the series on Entertainment Tonight.

From 2006 to 2007, she starred as the vindictive and psychotic Blythe Hunter in the My Network TV prime-time drama Wicked Wicked Games. She appears opposite Nashawn Kearse and Vanessa L. Williams in the Liberty Artists feature film My Brother (2007). She currently has one feature film in production, scheduled for release in 2009.

Personal life

One of O'Neal's first public boyfriends was pop star Michael Jackson. The pair used to date in the late 1970's to early 1980's. In 1986, O'Neal married tennis player John McEnroe. No one from her family attended the ceremony. The couple had three children: Kevin (born 1986), Sean, (born 1987), and Emily, (born 1991). They separated in December 1992 and were divorced in 1994. Following the divorce, O'Neal's drug problems re-emerged and she developed an addiction to heroin. As a result of her drug problems, McEnroe obtained custody of the children in 1998.^[1]

On June 1, 2008, she was arrested for allegedly buying crack cocaine near her Manhattan apartment building.^[2] When police searched her, they allegedly found two bags of drugs—one of crack cocaine, one of regular cocaine—and an unused crack pipe.^[2] She was charged with a misdemeanor, criminal possession of a controlled substance. Authorities released her without bail.^[2] On July 2, 2008, O'Neal pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with the arrest and agreed to spend two half-day sessions in a drug treatment program.^[3]

Autobiography claims

In her autobiography, A Paper Life, O'Neal alleged that she had been molested by a male friend of her father. She also alleges physical and emotional abuse from her father, much of which she attributed to drug use. She also detailed her own heroin addiction and its effects on her relationship with her children. Her father, Ryan, denied these allegations.^[4] In a prepared statement, Ryan O'Neal said: "It is a sad day when malicious lies are told in order to become a 'best-seller'."^[4]

O'Neal writes in her autobiography that when she was 13, her father took her and her friend Melanie Griffith (18 at the time^[5]) on a trip to Europe, where she caught him having sex with Griffith in their hotel room.^[5]

Filmography

See also

• List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees

References

Bibliography

• Tatum O'Neal autobiography: A Paper Life. ISBN 0-06-054097-4.

External links

• Tatum O'Neal at the Internet Movie Database
• Tatum O'Neal at Yahoo! Movies
• Tatum O'Neal at Allmovie
• Tatum O'Neal at TV.com
• When Young Stars Burn Out MSN Movies