Who is Tatum O’Neal? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Age: 60 Years, 60 Year Old Females

Family:

mother: Joanna Moore

children: Emily McEnroe, Kevin McEnroe

Actresses American Women

Ancestry: British American, Irish American

U.S. State: California

City: Los Angeles

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Childhood & Early Life

Tatum O’Neal was born on 5 November 1963 in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Her parents, Ryan O'Neal and Joanna Moore, were both successful film actors. She also has a younger brother Griffin, born a year later.

In 1967, her parents divorced after which her father remarried Leigh Taylor Young. The marriage ended in a divorce in 1973.

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Career

At the age of ten, Tatum O’Neal made her film debut in the 1973 American comedy 'Paper Moon', where she appeared alongside her father. Despite their troubled relationship off-screen, the father-daughter connection was much loved by the audience. For her brilliant performance, Tatum O’Neal won three awards including an Oscar, making her the youngest person in history to win the Award.

Her next appearance was in the 1976 sports comedy film 'The Bad News Bears'. The film was a moderate success. Throughout the years, she appeared in several other films, such as ‘International Velvet’ (1978) and 'Little Darlings' (1980).

Meanwhile, she also started doing minor roles in television, making her first appearance in an episode of 'Faerie Tale Theatre' (1984) and then in 'CBS Schoolbreak Special' (1989).

She made very few movie appearances in the late 1980s. She appeared in a lead role in the 1985 action movie 'Certain Fury', playing the role of a street kid who works as a prostitute to support herself. However the film failed to do well and received mostly negative reviews.

Later, she also appeared in 'Little Noises' a 1992 movie, where she played a major role. The story focused on an unsuccessful writer, who rises to fame after stealing the works of a deaf man, which makes the latter fall into a depression.

The next decade, she made several significant appearances on television including a role in a firefighter drama 'Rescue Me', which ran aired from 2005 to 2011. She also played a leading role in the 2006 TV show 'Wicked Wicked Games'. Co-directed by several directors such as Terry Cunningham and Dennis Dimster, the story was about an obsessive woman's vengeance against her ex-boyfriend.

She made an appearance in the 2010 American drama film 'The Runaways'. The film, which was directed by Floria Sigismondi, revolved around the 1970s rock band of the same name. It received mostly positive reviews. The same year, Tatum O’Neal also appeared in a lead role in a mystery drama film named 'Last Will'.

In 2011, she appeared in 'Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals'. It was a reality show about O'Neal and her father's effort to mend their relationship after a long period of twenty-five years. The show had eight episodes, and ran for two months.

Her latest appearance in films was in the 2014 American comedy 'She's Funny That Way', where she played a cameo.

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Major Works

'Paper Moon' a 1973 American comedy drama which was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, was the first film in Tatum O'Neals' career. The film, which was adapted from a novel by Joe David Brown, starred her along with her father, when she was only ten years of age. O' Neal's brilliant performance in the film won her an Oscar, making her the youngest person ever to win the Oscar. The film received mostly positive reviews.

'The Bad News Bears', is a 1976 American sports comedy, which was one of O'Neal's early works. It was another significant movie of her career. Directed by Michael Ritchie, it starred actors such as Walter Matthau, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten and Ben Piazza. The film was a commercial success, and received mostly positive reviews. Two sequels to the film were also released named 'The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training' and 'The Bad News Bears Go to Japan' in 1977 and 1978 respectively.

Another one of O' Neal’s major works was her appearance in the 2002 romantic drama 'The Scoundrel's Wife'. Directed by Glen Pitre, the movie starred O'Neal in the lead role, along with Julian Sands, Tim Curry, and Lacey Chabert. The story takes place during the time of the Second World War. It mostly focuses on the life of a woman, who is suspected to a saboteur, and is living with two children in a small village.

Tatum O'Neal played the lead role in the television series 'Wicked Wicked Games'. The show which started airing from 2006 was about a woman named Blythe Hunter, whose boyfriend left her twenty-five years ago. The story focuses on her trying to seek vengeance with help of her two sons. Along with O'Neal, the show stars actors such as Clive Robertson, David Smith, and Jessie Ward.

Awards & Achievements

Tatum O'Neal won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1973 movie 'Paper Moon', making her the youngest person in history to have won an Oscar. She also won the 'David di Donatello Award' for Best Foreign Actress, as well as a 'Golden Globe Award' for New Star of the Year for the same role.

Her amazing acting skills in 'The Scoundrel's Wife', won her the 'San Diego Film Festival Award' for Best Actress in 2002.

Personal Life & Legacy

In the 1970s, Tatum O'Neal dated the famous American pop star Michael Jackson who had described O'Neal as his first love.

She later married the well-known tennis player John McEnroe, with whom she had three children. However, they divorced eight years later. Because of her addiction to drugs, McEnroe was given custody of the children.

Various problems in O'Neal's personal life had got her addicted to drugs. She was arrested in 2008 for drug possession. After her release she decided to attend a drug treatment program.

Tatum O’Neal Biography