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| Kristy McNichol | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Christina Ann McNichol |
| Born | September 11 1962 Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Other name(s) | Kris McNichol |
Christina Ann McNichol (born September 11, 1962 in Los Angeles, California) is a former two-time Emmy Award winning Golden Globe nominated actress best known for her role as "Buddy" Lawrence on the TV drama Family, and as Barbara Weston on the sitcom Empty Nest. Her career in television and film began at the age of six having spanned more than 25 years, peaking somewhere in the early 80's. She is also the sister of former child actor Jimmy McNichol. McNichol's career came to a sudden close when she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 1994.
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Biography
Kristy McNichol began her career appearing with her brother Jimmy McNichol in commercials and later on her own in guest appearances on such series as Starsky and Hutch, The Bionic Woman, Love American Style and The Love Boat. Her first stint as a series regular came with the role of Patricia Apple in the short-lived ABC television series Apple's Way (1973). The McNichols got a break when Desi Arnaz offered their mother an opportunity in the television industry for her talented children. In 1976, McNichol got another huge break being cast as Buddy in Family drama series (1976-'80) for which the actress earned Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series in 1977 and 1979. Many future actors and actresses also guest starred including Michael J. Fox and Leif Garrett. The popular drama series Family was considered a breakthrough for its time in dealing with real life issues and was television producer Aaron Spelling's favorite of all his productions. McNichol was considered the series' main drawing attraction that catapulted her into teen icon status within a few short years. In 1978 at the height of her stardom on the drama series, McNichol, along with her brother Jimmy, released a self-titled album Kristy & Jimmy McNichol, which featured a hit single "He's So Fine." The McNichols partied at New York's infamous Studio 54 with other big name celebrities like Brooke Shields to promote the album. McNichol went on to appear on the Merv Griffin Show, Carpenters Christmas Special and ABC celebrity sports competitions. When Family went off the air in 1980, McNichol began a promising feature film career with the hit teen coming of age story Little Darlings starring with Tatum O'Neal. McNichol began performing with other top talent like Dennis Quaid in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1980) where she received an unheard of six figures for at the age of 19. McNichol also appeared in one of her first films with her pal Burt Reynolds in The End. This shortly followed with Kristy being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in Only When I Laugh, by Neil Simon in which Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl) received the Golden Globe for Best Actress (1981). McNichol later was considered to have broken new ground for future young actresses, topping the $1,000,000 mark for one of her early film roles. McNichol also performed as supporting actress for lead actress Susan Sarandon in a made for TV movie Women of Valor about nurses being incarcerated in a Japanese concentration camp during WWII. In 1982, McNichol's career took a dip when she starred in the cult musical film The Pirate Movie alongside Christopher Atkins of The Blue Lagoon fame. The film flopped in spite of a rather eccentric multi-million budget. In another sign of a downturn in McNichol's career, later that year McNichol walked off the set of a film set in the French Alps after having suffered a nervous breakdown. Though later completing the film, McNichol had damaged her reputation considerably in the film industry due to her being paid top dollar for her roles. B-film offers along with various made for TV movies seemed to be the only avenues for McNichol outside of television from thereon out. McNichol continued to work accepting limited roles in a series of B-films. In 1988, McNichol made a brief comeback with a popular TV sitcom playing the character of Barbara Weston on the NBC's Empty Nest. McNichol had to leave in 1994, when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.[1] McNichol returned to the series for its final episode in 1995 with a warm welcome from the cast that had missed her and her talents considerably.
Her last public statement to her fans was in June 2001, when she said:
"A lot of people have wondered what I've been up to. I retired from my career after 24 years. My feeling was that it was time to play my biggest part — MYSELF! I must say that it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. So many fans are disappointed that I'm not currently acting, however some may not realize that the process I'm in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness and well-being."
Filmography
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Awards
- Emmy(s) Best Supporting Actress, Drama Series - Family (1977 & '79)
- Favorite Young Performer - People's Choice Award (1980)
- Young Artist Award - Only When I Laugh (1982)
- Razzie Award - Two Moon Junction (1989)
- Nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, Best Supporting Actress, Family & Only When I Laugh (1979, 1982)
Trivia
- VH1 recently listed McNichol as the top 50 of teen stars of all time.
- Kristy McNichol was also well known for her coined hair style in the 70's.
- McNichol had a live-in boyfriend in the early 80's, her hair styler Giuseppe Franco, who years later she helped contribute financially to his hair design empire. In an E! special about McNichol's career, Franco attributed his success to McNichol's early financial contributions to his business. Today Franco styles hair for many top celebrities in Beverly Hills.
- Kristy McNichol took a break from her acting career to get her hair styling license in the 80's and worked at Franco's salon a brief time.
- Kristy McNichol was the host of the annual Kristy McNichol Celebrity Tennis Tournament benefiting the H.E.L.P. group for abused children in Los Angeles. McNichol also worked with the H.E.L.P. group teaching drama to abused kids. McNichol has also been a long time contributor to various animal charities participating in the events to raise money for abused and neglected animals.
- In 2007, Kristy McNichol attended a rare autograph signing event in Studio City along with other stars from her time period (70's-80's) at the request of the promoters of the event.
