Movies

Kristy McNichol, 62, was a BIG teen star who worked with Matt Dillon and Tatum O’Neal… see her now

BBG News

Kristy McNichol was a huge TV and movie star in the 1970s and 1980s.

The woman with the broad smile, who has dark hair, gained fame for portraying the tough-as-nails daughter in the popular television show Family. This role brought her numerous magazine covers and a significant fan base.

McNichol is known for portraying Leticia ‘Buddy’ Lawrence in Family, Patricia Apple in Apple’s Way, and Barbara Weston in Empty Nest on various television shows.

In addition, she starred in the 1978 NBC film “Summer of My German Soldier” and the 1980 cult favorite “Little Darlings,” alongside Tatum O’Neal.

And there were the TV shows like Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, The Bionic Woman and The Love Boat.

In the year 2001, she decided to leave her television profession behind to focus on teaching acting at a private institution located in Los Angeles. Since then, a significant portion of her efforts has been directed towards charitable endeavors.

The star was spotted in Los Angeles this week during a power walk.

She wore casual attire, consisting of a white T-shirt, black shorts, a maroon jacket, and sneakers, along with a short, neat hairstyle.

Ever since her departure from Hollywood in the 90s, this actress tends to stay out of the limelight. She’s chosen not to use social media platforms and seldom makes appearances beyond select press events.

Just like other child actors, she wasn’t the lone family member striving for success. Her brother, Jimmy McNichol, also started his career in advertisements with her, but eventually branched out for individual projects.

In just a few short years, she managed to secure one of her most significant roles, playing Letitia ‘Buddy’ Lawrence, in the television series “Family,” which spanned from 1976 to 1980 for a total of four seasons.

McNichols charmed viewers with her spunky, tomboyish character and at just 14, she started on a television series that would eventually earn her two Emmy Awards. This successful start propelled her career forward for the subsequent twenty years.

As a devoted admirer, I couldn’t help but follow in the footsteps of my talented sibling, dipping my toes into the music industry alongside him. Our performances on TV specials opened up new opportunities, eventually leading us to record an album together under the name Kristy and Jimmy McNichol for RCA Records.

In the course of time, I found myself gaining a devoted fanbase, often referred to as a cult following, for the celebrity sports event, ABC’s Battle of the Network Stars. This show, more often than not, saw me at the top of the podium.

Her visage came to be strongly linked with the broadcasting channel, and her portrayal in the television film “Summer of My German Soldier” received widespread critical praise.

However, it was her starring role in the 1980s coming-of-age movie Little Darlings, alongside Tatum O’Neil, that catapulted her into teenagers’ affections. In this film, two girls with contrasting personalities spend their summer at a camp and make a wager to determine who will be the first to lose their virginity.

Currently, McNichols’ career was thriving as she shared the screen with Dennis Quaid and Mark Hamill in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1980) and Only When I Laugh (1981). This collaboration earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.

In 1982, she started to doubt her professional direction, as she confided to People Magazine. On her journey to the set of “Just the Way You Are,” she admitted feeling close to a complete emotional breakdown.

Over the course of several years, she had accumulated numerous successes (eight films to her name), faced unsettling advances from producers, and grappled with lingering doubts about her own identity.

During the making of that movie, she claimed she found the strength to complete each scene because it was something she had always known, subsequently transforming into a ‘forlorn, disoriented creature in the shadows’.

Her weight dropped, depression skyrocketed and was constantly haunted by strange dreams. 

When she ultimately decided not to go on with filming the movie, despite returning to the set a year later, whispers about her psychological well-being spread like wildfire in the gossip magazines.

The culprit? The intense pressures of child stardom.

In subsequent years, McNichol reappeared on television, featuring in Women of Valor (1986), You Can’t Hurry Love (1988), and Two Moon Junction (1988) as well.

In 1988, her last significant performance was portraying Barbara Weston on Empty Nest, a series spun off from The Golden Girls. However, she departed the show in 1992 following her diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

In 2001, she announced she had retired from acting and retreated to her Sherman Oaks home.

However, after a period of privacy, she chose to re-emerge in the limelight to disclose her most significant, long-debated aspect of her personal life – her sexual orientation.

In the year 2012, McNichols openly identified herself as a lesbian, sharing that she had been in a relationship with her partner, Martie Allen, for more than two decades.

For several decades, McNichol shared something that she hoped would prevent some children from experiencing the harm of homophobic bullying.

In a recent statement, the ex-actress expressed that one motivation for disclosing her sexuality stems from reaching an age close to 50, and her desire to be transparent about her identity.

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2025-07-25 20:34

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