Kristy McNichol

Christina Ann "Kristy" McNichol (born September 11, 1962) is an American former actress. Beginning her career as a child actress, she rose to fame in 1976 with her role as the teenage daughter Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence in the TV drama Family for which she won two Emmy Awards. Subsequent roles included Angel in the film Little Darlings, Polly in Only When I Laugh, and Barbara Weston in the TV sitcom Empty Nest. McNichol retired from acting in 2001.

Career McNichol appeared with her brother Jimmy McNichol in commercials and later, on her own, in guest appearances on such other series as Starsky & Hutch, The Bionic Woman, CHiPs, Love, American Style, and The Love Boat, thanks to family friend Desi Arnaz. Her first stint as a series regular came in the role of Patricia Apple in the short-lived television series Apple's Way (1974).

In 1976, McNichol was cast as Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence in the television drama series Family (1976–80). She was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series three years in a row (1977–79), winning in 1977 and 1979. In 1980, she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Family. The role featured her skateboarding, making her an early skateboard hero to may people. She competed against Dan Haggerty in 1977 in skateboarding in Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes.

Publicity photo of child actress Kristy McNichol (age 13) promoting the September 28, 1976, premiere of the second season of the ABC television series Family. McNichol was one of the bigger teen stars of that era. She appeared on talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show and Dinah!, and made several appearances on Battle of the Network Stars and other celebrity-based sports shows. In 1978, she starred in the acclaimed TV movie Summer of My German Soldier.

McNichol began her film career in 1977 in Black Sunday, but her scenes were cut. In 1978, she starred with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in the black comedy The End.

In 1980, McNichol played one of the leading roles in the hit coming-of-age movie Little Darlings, which also starred Tatum O'Neal, with Matt Dillon and Cynthia Nixon in supporting roles. Her performance was acclaimed by many reviewers, including those who disliked the film. Later in 1980, she appeared with Dennis Quaid and Mark Hamill in the film The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. In 1981, she co-starred in Neil Simon's Only When I Laugh and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film is a revised version of the Neil Simon play "The Gingerbread Lady". She also appeared in the movie "White Dog" in the same time period. The same year, she suffered an emotional breakdown while playing the lead role in the comedy-drama Just the Way You Are that was being filmed in France. She later told People magazine that she could not sleep and she cried the entire time she was in France. She had nightmares when she did sleep and she cried on set. She did not return to the production after Christmas to finish the movie; filming had to be interrupted for a year while McNichol recovered. She later said that the breakdown had been caused by the pressures of her career, as well as the pressure to hide her sexuality from the public.

In 1986, McNichol appeared in Women of Valor, a TV movie about American nurses in a World War II Japanese POW camp. She made two theatrical films in 1988: You Can't Hurry Love; and Two Moon Junction.

In the same year, McNichol began the role of Barbara Weston on the television sitcom Empty Nest, a spin-off of The Golden Girls. The show ran for seven seasons but McNichol left the series in 1992, midway through season five, after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She returned for the show's final episode in 1995. It was her last on-screen performance. However, she later voiced characters in the animated TV series Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) and Invasion America (1998).

In June 2001, McNichol announced that she had retired from acting. Her publicist released this statement:

Personal life

McNichol was born on September 11, 1962, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of James and Carolyn McNichol. Her father was a carpenter and her mother worked as a registered nurse. McNichol has Scottish/Irish ancestry on her father's side and her mother is of Lebanese Christian descent. After her retirement, McNichol taught acting at a private school in Los Angeles and devoted much of her time to charity work.

In 2012, McNichol shared that she is a lesbian and has lived with her partner Martie Allen since the early 1990s. She made the statement in hopes that her openness would help young people who are bullied because of their sexual orientation. In the same statement, McNichol made it clear that she had no plans to return to acting.

Filmography Film

Television

Awards

Wins 1977 Emmy for Family 1979 Emmy for Family 1980 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Young Motion Picture Actress" 1982 Young Artist Award for Only When I Laugh

Nominations 1978 Emmy for Family 1979 Golden Globe for Family 1980 Emmy for Family Young Artist Award for Family 1981 Young Artist Award for My Old Man and Little Darlings 1982 Golden Globe for Only When I Laugh