Tatum O'Neal Net Worth

What is Tatum O'Neal's Net Worth?

Tatum O'Neal is an American actress who has a net worth of $1 million. Tatum O'Neal burst onto the Hollywood scene at age 10 with her Oscar-winning performance in "Paper Moon" (1973), becoming the youngest competitive Academy Award winner in history. Acting alongside her father, Ryan O'Neal, she displayed remarkable natural talent that captivated audiences and critics alike.

Following this extraordinary debut, O'Neal starred in several notable films throughout the 1970s, including "The Bad News Bears," "Nickelodeon," and "International Velvet." Her early career showcased her ability to hold her own against seasoned actors while bringing authenticity to complex young characters.

The 1980s proved challenging as O'Neal struggled with the transition to adult roles amid personal difficulties and substance abuse issues. Her marriage to tennis star John McEnroe temporarily shifted her focus away from acting.

O'Neal experienced a career revival in the 1990s and 2000s with supporting roles in films like "Little Darlings" and "The Runaways." She also found success on television with recurring roles in "Rescue Me" and "Criminal Minds."

Many child Oscar nominees and winners, like Anna Paquin, Justin Henry, and Haley Joel Osment, went on to solid careers in acting or behind the scenes.  Unfortunately, unlike those actors, Tatum O'Neal fell apart, and much of her adult years have been marred by substance abuse and emotional issues.  During the mid-2000s, she lived in New York City, and at one point in 2008, she was caught attempting to buy crack cocaine on the corner near her building.

In 2004, she published her candid memoir "A Paper Life," detailing her tumultuous childhood and subsequent struggles. Despite the personal and professional challenges she faced, O'Neal's legacy remains defined by her historic Oscar win and the indelible mark she left as one of cinema's most memorable child performers.

Tatum O'Neal & Joanna Moore in 1970 (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty) Images

Early Life

Tatum O'Neal was born Tatum Beatrice O'Neal on November 5, 1963, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents, actors Ryan O'Neal and Joanna Moore, divorced in 1967. Joanna passed away from lung cancer in 1997. Ryan died in 2023. Tatum has a younger brother, Griffin, and two younger half-brothers, Patrick (from her father's marriage to actress Leigh Taylor-Young) and Redmond (whose mother is Farrah Fawcett).

Tatum's childhood was tumultuous. Her mother lost custody of Tatum and Griffin in 1970. In her memoir "A Paper Life," O'Neal wrote, "In the grip of addiction, she had virtually abandoned me and Griffin, leaving us in squalor — starving, shoeless, and ragged, as well as beaten and abused by the men in her life." Tatum has also alleged that she was physically, verbally, and emotionally abused by her father.

Highest Paid Child Star

O'Neal made her acting debut as Addie Loggins in the 1973 film "Paper Moon" (co-starring with her father). On April 2, 1974, 10-year-old Tatum made history when she became the youngest person to win an Academy Award. She co-starred with her father again in 1976's "Nickelodeon," and that year, she also played Amanda Whurlitzer in "The Bad News Bears," earning a reported $350,000 + 9% of net profits, making her Hollywood's highest-paid child star.

Later Career

Tatum O'Neal then starred in the films "International Velvet" (1978), "Circle of Two" (1982), and "Certain Fury" (1985) and appeared on "Faerie Tale Theatre" (1984) and "CBS Schoolbreak Special" (1989). In the 1990s, Tatum appeared in the TV movie "Woman on the Run: The Lawrencia Bembenek Story" (1993) and the films "Little Noises" (1992) and "Basquiat" (1996). She guest-starred on "Sex and the City" (2003), "8 Simple Rules" (2004), and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2004), then played Maggie Gavin, sister of Denis Leary's Tommy Gavin, on 39 episodes of the FX series "Rescue Me" from 2005 to 2011.

O'Neal then appeared in the films "My Brother" (2006), "Saving Grace B. Jones" (2008), "The Runaways" (2010), and "Last Will" (2010) and the TV movie "Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal" (2008), and she played Blythe Hunter on the MyNetworkTV series "Wicked Wicked Games" from 2006 to 2007, appearing in 49 episodes. She had a cameo in the Judd Apatow-directed film "This Is 40" in 2012 and the comedy "She's Funny That Way" in 2014, and she appeared in the movies "Sweet Lorraine" (2015), "Rock, Paper, Scissors" (2017), "God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness" (2018), and "The Assent" (2019). Tatum guest-starred on "Criminal Minds" in 2017 and appeared in the TV movie "Runaway Romance" in 2018. In 2019, she filmed the movie "Not To Forget," which was partially funded by an Alzheimer's foundation; some of the film's profits will be donated to charity.

Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Personal Life

Tatum was rumored to have dated Michael Jackson in the late 1970s when she was 12 and he was 17. Jackson called O'Neal his first love, but she called the relationship "a really wonderful friendship" and denied Michael's claims that she tried to seduce him. When a Daily Beast interviewer referred to Jackson as Tatum's "first public boyfriend," O'Neal responded, "He was somebody I knew, and I did go on a date with, but I don't know about my first 'public boyfriend.' Let's call that the media's take on my first 'public boyfriend.'"

In 1984, she began a relationship with tennis player John McEnroe. They married on August 1, 1986. Tatum and John had three children, Kevin (born May 23, 1986), Sean (born September 23, 1987), and Emily (born May 10, 1991), before divorcing in 1994. After the divorce, O'Neal became addicted to heroin, and McEnroe was given custody of their children in 1998.

In 2008, Tatum was arrested after buying crack cocaine in Manhattan. Police found a bag of powder cocaine, a bag of crack cocaine, and an unused crack pipe while searching her, and she was charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance and released without bail. She later pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge that stemmed from the arrest and agreed to attend a drug treatment program. Tatum and her father were estranged for 25 years, but in 2011, their reconciliation was documented for the Oprah Winfrey Network series "Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals." The reconciliation may have been mostly for the cameras, or at the very least was temporary. Tatum would later reveal that she and her father continued to have a toxic relationship through the end of his life in 2023. Upon his death, Tatum learned that her father had cut her out of his will.

In 2015, O'Neal told People magazine that she had started dating women, saying, "I think women are the most amazing creatures on earth. They're gentle and also more intelligent than the men that I've met recently." In "A Paper Life," Tatum revealed she attempted suicide when she was 12 years old after walking in on her father and best friend (actress Melanie Griffith) together; she said that while she was unconscious, her father's drug dealer sexually assaulted her. In October 2020, it was reported that O'Neal was "placed on a psychiatric hold for further evaluation" after allegedly threatening to jump off the balcony at a Los Angeles home.

Awards and Nominations

O'Neal won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Paper Moon" in 1974. The film also earned her a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female and a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. In 1980, Tatum was nominated for a Jupiter Award for Best International Actress for "Little Darlings" and a Bravo Otto Award for Best Actress. In 2002, she was named Best Actress for "The Scoundrel's Wife" at the San Diego Film Festival, and in 2008, "Rescue Me " earned her a Prism Award nomination for Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline.

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