Ryan O’Neal welcomed four children across three relationships during his life. Learn about the kids of the actor who died at the age of 82.
Ryan O’Neal, Oscar nominated star of Love Story and Peyton Place, passed away on December 8, 2023, at the age of 82. And though he’s best known for his work on-camera, he had a full family life behind the scenes. Across three relationships — two marriages and one epic romance with actress Farrah Fawcett –he welcomed four children. By the time he passed at the age of 82, he’d also become a grandfather to five.
Here’s everything to know about his four children, including Oscar-winning former child actress Tatum O’Neal.
Tatum O’Neal
Ryan welcomed his first child, Tatum, on November 5, 1963, with ex-wife, actress Joanna Moore. Though Joanna and Ryan separated in 1966 and divorce in 1967, Tatum and her dad were destined for father-daughter greatness. They’d go on to co-star in Paper Moon, a Great Depression Era film about a con artist and a young girl, in 1974. At the age of just 10, Tatum would become the youngest actress ever to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress that year. Her father received a nomination, as well.
But over the years, their relationship soured amid Tatum’s reported battle with addiction. In 2011, Ryan and Tatum starred in OWN reality series Ryan and Tatum: The O’Neals. She realized at the time that she needed to reconcile with him.
“How would I feel if my father were to, say, get sick or die even? Would I be OK? And I realized that I wouldn’t be OK,” she said in a clip of the show, per CNN. “So I knew I needed to make an effort, because what is your life without your family? What’s your life without a father?”
The estrangement reignited and dragged on. But in 2020, Tatum’s son Sean McEnroe, shared that the estrangement had ended. He shared a pic of his mom, grandfather Ryan, and his siblings, enjoying time as a family. “This is one of the most memorable photos of my life,” he captioned the pic in part. “The last time we were all together was at the 30-year Paper Moon Anniversary in 2003.
