Actor Ryan O'Neal is known as much for his tumultuous personal life as he is for his work. Throughout the years, his issues with his children, including actor Tatum O'Neal, have been well-documented, as has his long on-and-off relationship with the late Farrah Fawcett. O'Neal's acting career, however, got off to a strong start. He appeared on many TV series throughout the '60s, including starring on Peyton Place from 1964 to 1969. Then, in 1970, he took on one of his biggest roles as Oliver in Love Story opposite Ali MacGraw. For the film, he received nominations for the Best Actor Academy Award and the Golden Globe.
While his career faced a decline as the years went on, he did continue acting and is still working today. He even reunited to act alongside MacGraw once again. Read on to find out more about O'Neal's career and life today at age 80.
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He's continued to work steadily.
Bettmann / Getty ImagesO'Neal went on to appear in many more films after Love Story, including What’s Up, Doc?, Paper Moon (with Tatum), Barry Lyndon, and Irreconcilable Differences. He also made a sequel to Love Story called Oliver's Story, which wasn't successful. But, in a 2021 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, he said he was paid a lot for the film. "I'm living in Malibu thanks to Oliver’s Story,” he said.
Some of O'Neal more recent work includes the TV show Bull, the 90210 revival, and the series Bones. He also appeared in the 2015 movie Knight of Cups.
He worked with MacGraw again.
Tibrina Hobson/WireImage via Getty ImagesFrom 2015 to 2017, O'Neal and MacGraw reunited for a touring production of the play Love Letters. "Maybe it is an extension of the film we did years ago,” O’Neal said at a press conference for the play, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “For me it’s as if [the character Jenny] didn’t die, and we’ve been together all this time. And you get to take a look at what happened to us.”
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His family life has been troubled.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images For PSFFO'Neal has four children. Tatum and Griffin O'Neal, from his first marriage to Joanna Moore; Patrick O'Neal from his marriage to Leigh Taylor-Young; and Redmond Fawcett O'Neal with Fawcett. O'Neal's fraught relationship with Tatum has been particularly publicized. They were estranged for quite some time and tried to work out their relationship on a show on the OWN channel in 2010 titled Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals. Redmond has also made headlines for a variety of legal issues and alleged crimes. In 2007, O'Neal fired a gun during a fight with his son Griffin, but claimed self-defense. The case was later dismissed.
His relationship with Fawcett was tragic.
CBS Sunday Morning / YouTubeFawcett and O'Neal were together from 1979 to 1997. They got back together 2001 and remained a couple until she died in 2009. During this time, O'Neal battled leukemia and Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer, which eventually led to her death. "There was never a day I didn’t love her," O'Neal told People in 2019.
