Photo:Jesse Grant/Getty
Jesse Grant/Getty
Tatum O’Neal is letting things go.
Speaking withVarietyas part of her cover feature for the Feb. 26 issue, the Oscar-winning actress reflected on surviving addiction and a stroke as well as accepting being left out of her late fatherRyan O’Neal’s will.
Tatum, 60 — who starred alongside her father in 1973’sPaper Moonand won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, making her the youngest person to win at just 10 years old — had previously documented her challenging relationship with her father in her 2004 biographyA Paper Life.Ryandied on Dec. 8, 2023after being diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and with prostate cancer in 2012.
“The first book that I wrote was just a f—ing honest book. And that’s what got him,” she said.
Facing financial concerns, from health care expenses including a recent neck surgery and speech therapy to having lost $1 million to an accountant who she says “took advantage of her” amid her heroin addiction, Tatum was not pleased to learn she had been left out of her father’s will.
However, the actress toldVarietyshe had one message for the late actor: “Keep it, motherf—er.”
Tatum’s son Kevin McEnroe, who was present for theVarietyinterview to support his mother, added “It’s blood money.”
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The actress added an upcoming documentary project about her life has the potential to help with money woes. Kevin, 38, shared that for his mother, the most important thing is moving forward. “I think the best revenge is your own success,” McEnroe said, adding that in the years since his grandfather’s passing, his mom has begun “letting go of how much space he took up in her life.”
Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal in 2011.Michael Buckner/Getty
Michael Buckner/Getty
Despite a challenging relationship and being estranged for decades, Tatum and her father began their journey toward reconciliation in 2008 after Ryan’s then-partnerFarrah Fawcettwas diagnosed with cancer.
Speakingto PEOPLE in 2010, Tatum explained that she had given Ryan’s phone number to her son Sean McEnroe, as she was concerned about her father’s wellbeing amid Fawcett’s illness. Months afterFawcett’s death at age 62in June 2009, she received a call from her father and the two decided to meet.
“He told me he’s sorry,” Tatum said of the meeting. “He’s all I have in terms of family, and I needed him in my life. My dad was absolutely everything to me.”
“This is one of the most memorable photos of my life. The last time we were all together was at the 30-year Paper Moon Anniversary in 2003,” McEnroe, 49, captioned the photo, which showed both Tatum and Ryan smiling alongside McEnroe and the two other children Tatum shares with ex-husbandJohn McEnroe— son Kevin, now 38, and daughter Emily, now 33.
source: people.com
