Ali MacGraw became a Hollywood superstar overnight. But just as quickly as she rose to fame, she disappeared from show business altogether.
Today, the 84-year-old actress has settled down in a remote and tiny town, and she’s aging gracefully with her grey hair.
Ali MacGraw
Ali MacGraw – born Elizabeth Alice MacGraw – was born on April 1, 1939, in Pound Ridge, New York, USA. Her mother, Frances, was an artist and worked at a school in Paris, later settling in Greenwich Village. She married Richard MacGraw, who was also an artist. In 1939, Ali was born.
Ali’s father Richard supposedly had issues from his own childhood which made him a little bit different from others.
He had survived a terrible childhood in an orphanage, running away at the age of 16 to go to sea. He would later study at an art school in Munich, Germany.
“Daddy was frightened and really, really angry. He never forgave his real parents for giving him up,” Ali explained, saying said her father’s adult life was spent “suppressing the rage that covered all his hurt.”
Ali MacGraw – childhood
Money was short for their family, too. Frances and Richard, together with Ali and her brother, Richard Jr, had to move into a house on a Pound Ridge wilderness preserve which they shared with an elderly couple.
“There were no doors; we shared the kitchen and bathroom with them,” Ali said. “It was utter lack of privacy. It was horrible.”
Mom Francis worked with several commercial-art assignments and supported the family. At the same time, Richard had a hard time selling his paintings, and as a result became very frustrated. Ali’s brother Richard became a victim for his anger at home.
“On good days he was great, but on bad days he was horrendous,” she recalled. “Daddy would beat my brother up, badly. I was witness to it, and it was terrible.”
Ali was the daughter of artists, and she knew that she, too, wanted to go into a creative line of work as she got older. She earned a scholarship at the prep school Rosemary Hall, and in 1956, she moved to study at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
By the age of 22, Ali MacGraw moved to New York and got her first job as an assistant editor at Harper’s Bazaar, working with photographers as an assistant.
Fashion work in New York
Fashion editor Diana Vreeland hired Ali as, what she recalls as, a “flunkie”. Ever seen the film The Devil Wears Prada? Well, it was pretty much that.
“It was ‘Girl! Get me a pencil!’,” MacGraw recalled.
The future Hollywood celebrity worked her job as an assistant for several months. Then, about six months in, fashion photographer Melvin Sokolsky noticed her beautiful looks, and Ali MacGraw was hired as a stylist,and given a better salary. She’d end up staying in that position for six years.
“I don’t know where she got this work ethic, but Ali would come in at eight a.m., and many times I’d come back at one in the morning and she would still be doing things for the next day,” Ruth Ansel, a former art director of Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar recalls.
Ali was great as a stylist. But soon, she was asked to work in front of the cameras as a model. It didn’t take long before she was on magazine covers all over the world, even appearing in television commercials. For thing led to another, and Ali tumbled headfirst into the profession of acting.
She had been sketched nude by Salvador Dali a couple of years earlier. But when the surrealist artist started sucking her toes, MacGraw decided that she’d rather be an actress than a model.
Ali MacGraw – films
Ali went straight from an unknown stylist and into the world of cinema, and boy, did she do it with a bang.
She was untutored in the art of film, which gave her acting another dimension. Her natural beauty was stunning, and the audience loved her.
Following a small role in A Lovely Way to Die (1968), she was asked to star in the 1969 film Goodbye, Columbus. It turned out to be a great call, with MacGraw receiving a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female. The following year, she got her big international breakthrough with a role that would pretty much sum up her career.
Ali MacGraw had received a script from her agent. She’d read it and wept twice because of how much she loved it. She decided she really wanted a part in it, and got herself a meeting with the film’s producer Robert Evans – who at the time was Paramount Picture’s head of production – at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge. Not only did Evans think she was perfect for the part in the movie Love Story, he absolutely fell in love with her.
MacGraw – playing the role of Jenny – acted alongside Ryan O’Neal in the movie Love Story. The American romantic drama film, in which Ali played a working-class college student, became a smash hit.
Love Story hit the cinemas in 1970, and wow did the audience cherish it. It became the No. 1 film in the United States, and at the time, it was the sixth highest grossing movie in history in the US and Canada.
Award-winning actress
MacGraw earned an Academy Award nomination for her role, and the film itself earned her another win and five Academy Award Nominations. She also won herself a second Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
Film producer Robert Evans not only loved her on screen, he had fallen in love with her in real life, and that love was reciprocated. In 1969, the couple tied the knot, and two years later, they welcomed their son, Josh Evans.
Ali MacGraw was the hot new star of the 1970s, but her private life and marriage with Evans would soon come to an end. Steve McQueen had visited their home to ask her to star alongside him in The Getaway, and the two Hollywood stars clicked right away.
“I looked in those blue eyes, and my knees started knocking,” MacGraw recalled. “I became obsessed.”
MacGraw and McQueen had an affair, and she soon left Evans to live with the actor in Malibu, along with her son Josh.
“Steve was this very original, principled guy who didn’t seem to be part of the system, and I loved that,” she said.
Ali MacGraw – Steve McQueen
But after a while, Ali realized that Steve McQueen had his own problems. Following his father abandoning his mother, a then-14-year-old Steve was sent to a school for delinquent children. MacGraw said he never trusted women after that.
(Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
He didn’t like that she worked and had her own career. For a while, Ali stayed home to raise their sons. But her husband’s demands were something Ali simply couldn’t accept in the long run.
Not only that, but he’d explode if she even looked at another man. He also wanted her to sign a prenuptial agreement, promising not to ask for anything if they’d divorce. She abided by the agreement when they did divorce in 1978.
“I couldn’t even go to art class because Steve expected his ‘old lady’ to be there every night with dinner on the table,” she recalled.
“Steve’s idea of hot was not me. He liked blond bimbos, and they were always around.”
This was the start of a pretty dark time in MacGraw’s life. She arrived on set to shoot the 1978 film Convoy both drunk and high, which prompted her to quit drugs.
SELENA GOMEZ OPENS UP ABOUT HER STRUGGLE WITH MOTHERHOOD: A DEVASTATING REVELATION
Selena Gomez recently opened up about a very personal issue she’s facing with her dreams of becoming a mother. She revealed that due to past health problems, she is unable to carry her own children. These complications could put both her life and the baby’s life at risk.
In a recent interview, the 32-year-old singer and actress spoke candidly about coming to terms with her situation. She discussed the difficult journey of accepting alternative ways to become a mother, like surrogacy or adoption.
Family has always been important to Selena Gomez, and she has openly talked about her wish to have children. As a godmother to her cousin Priscilla’s two kids, she has experienced both the joys and difficulties of parenting.
However, these experiences have also highlighted her own struggles. In a heartfelt interview with Vanity Fair, Gomez shared, “I haven’t ever said this, but I unfortunately can’t carry my own children. I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby’s in danger. I had to grieve this for a while.”
Though it was upsetting for her, Selena seemed to have found peace. “It’s not necessarily the way I envisioned it,” she said. “I thought it would happen the way it does for everyone. But I’m in a much better place now. I see it as a blessing that there are amazing people willing to help through surrogacy or adoption, which are both great options for me.”
The singer is excited about becoming a mother, no matter how it happens. “At the end of the day, I don’t care. It’ll be mine. It’ll be my baby,” she added.
Over the years, Selena Gomez has been open about her health struggles that make pregnancy too risky for her. In 2015, she revealed that she had lupus, an autoimmune disease, and had to undergo chemotherapy. She took a break from her career because her condition was so severe.
A year later, Gomez also talked about the mental health challenges caused by her lupus, including anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. She shared with People that dealing with these issues brought its own set of “challenges.”
Because of her health issues, Selena Gomez had to take more time off from her career to focus on her well-being. Despite these efforts, her struggles continued. In 2017, Gomez underwent a life-saving kidney transplant, with the kidney donated by her close friend, Francia Raisa.
She publicly expressed her gratitude to Raisa and her medical team for their support during this challenging time. On Instagram, Gomez wrote, “I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much, sis.”
Unfortunately, Selena Gomez’s challenges didn’t stop there. In 2020, she shared that she has bipolar disorder. During an Instagram chat with Miley Cyrus, Gomez talked about how understanding her condition helped her feel less scared.
“It doesn’t scare me once I know it,” Gomez explained. She said that learning more about her mental health issues allowed her to take charge of her own story.
These health challenges have certainly shaped Selena Gomez’s outlook on life and her future plans, which now include her relationship with music producer Benny Blanco.
Initially friends and collaborators on hits like “Same Old Love” and “I Can’t Get Enough,” Gomez and Blanco began dating in 2023. Their relationship has since grown into a publicly affectionate and supportive partnership.
Although Gomez’s journey is deeply personal, her willingness to share her struggles has touched many people. Her revelation led to a wave of empathy and support from fans and online users. One fan commented, “That’s sad for her, but she definitely has options, and she’ll make a great mom someday!”
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