Tragic Details About Tatum O'Neal
Apr 03 2021
As the daughter of 70s heartthrob Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal grew up in the Hollywood spotlight. In 1974, she also became the youngest person to ever win an Oscar. But like many child stars, the Paper Moon actor's life was no fairytale.

Winning the Oscar for Paper Moon should have been a joyous event for 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal. Instead, the actor told Dateline NBC that she felt, quote, "overwhelming sadness" and utterly "abandoned" in her moment of glory. In her memoir, A Paper Life, O'Neal related that neither of her parents attended the awards ceremony. And while Tatum did receive a congratulatory phone call from her father, her mother, Joanna Moore, said nothing.

In Tatum's adorably short acceptance speech, she thanked the movie's director and her father. Sadly, Tatum has claimed that the Academy Award drove a painful wedge between father and daughter, writing in her memoir,

"In the press, he played the doting father. But in his eyes, I read the truth: deep resentment that his own brilliant performance was being dismissed."

Tatum has also claimed that her father's jealousy boiled over into a violent rage. During a 2004 appearance on Larry King Live, the actor said that while she has no memory of the alleged disturbing event, a family friend informed her that Ryan reportedly punched his young daughter in the face after she received the nomination. When Stone Phillips of Dateline NBC asked Tatum about how her win impacted their relationship, the star's reply was heartbreaking, quote, "It sort of destroyed us."

Watch this video for more on the tragic details about Tatum O'Neal!

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Ryan resented Tatum's Oscar win | 00:00

Her mother lost custody | 1:29

Rocky relationship with her father | 2:48

Sexual abuse plauged her childhood | 4:04

Complicated relationships with her brothers | 4:48

Tumultuous marriage to John McEnroe | 6:06

Arrested for drug possession | 7:19

Struggled to get parts | 8:27

Struggles with rheumatoid arthritis | 9:21

Suicide attempts | 10:25

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