Tatum O’Neal Reacts Scathingly to Being Disinherited by Father Ryan O’Neal
Tatum O’Neal, the Academy Award-winning actress, has offered a raw and unfiltered response to the news that she was excluded from her late father Ryan O’Neal’s will. The revelation has reopened old wounds and underscored the complexities of a relationship that was fraught with conflict and pain throughout much of her life.
For the 61-year-old actress, the disinheritance represents yet another chapter in a tumultuous saga that began with early fame and quickly spiraled into addiction, estrangement, and years of unresolved trauma. The elder O’Neal, a celebrated actor in his own right, passed away in 2023 at the age of 82 from congestive heart failure, leaving behind a legacy that is forever intertwined with the controversies that plagued his personal life.
In a recent interview with Variety, Tatum O’Neal revealed that she only discovered she had been cut out of her father’s will after his death. Her reaction, delivered with characteristic bluntness, encapsulated the complicated mix of emotions she felt. “Keep it, motherf—–,” she declared, a sentiment laden with years of resentment and a defiant sense of independence.
Ryan O’Neal’s family included Tatum and her brother Griffin, 60, both children from his marriage to the late Joanna Moore. He also fathered Patrick O’Neal, 57, with ex-wife Leigh Taylor-Young, and Redmond O’Neal, 40, with the late actress Farrah Fawcett. The family dynamics were notoriously complex, marked by addiction, legal battles, and periods of estrangement.
Tatum and Griffin initially lived with their mother, Joanna Moore, until 1970, when she lost custody due to her struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. Moore, who had multiple DUI arrests, eventually died of lung cancer in 1997 at the age of 63. After losing custody, the children went to live with Ryan, marking the beginning of a new, equally challenging chapter in their lives.
Tatum O’Neal rose to fame at a young age, becoming the youngest Oscar winner in history at the age of 10 for her role in the 1973 film "Paper Moon," where she starred alongside her father. However, the film’s success became a source of tension between them. In her autobiography, "A Paper Life," published in 2004, she alleged that her father was envious of her success, leading to a strained and ultimately damaging relationship.
“Things got ugly quick,” O’Neal recounted in her interview with Variety. Her memoir detailed allegations of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her father, who she also claimed suffered from drug addiction. O’Neal also disclosed that she was molested by a drug dealer who was part of Ryan’s inner circle.
Tatum believes that her father’s decision to exclude her from his will was a direct result of the revelations in "A Paper Life." “The first book that I wrote was just a f—ing honest book,” she said. “And that’s what got him.”
Ryan O’Neal vehemently denied the allegations made in "A Paper Life" in a 2004 statement to Dateline, attributing her claims to her own struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. “It is a sad day when malicious lies are told in order to become a best seller,” he said. He expressed hope that the book served as a form of therapy for her and that she would remain sober, allowing her to have a clearer perception of the future.
Tatum O’Neal has said that her relationship with her father deteriorated significantly after "Paper Moon." While Ryan received critical acclaim for his performance as conman Moses Pray, Tatum’s portrayal of Annie Loggins, the orphaned girl, garnered even more attention, solidifying her status as a child prodigy.
She alleged that Ryan hit her after she received her Academy Award nomination. He did not accompany her to the awards ceremony and later admitted that her win created tension within the family. “Everybody hated everybody because of that Academy Award,” Ryan said in a 2009 interview with Vanity Fair.
Following her Oscar win, Tatum revealed that she was considered for the role of Iris, a child prostitute, in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film "Taxi Driver." She recalled Ryan telling her, “‘No, you can’t,’" because he felt the part was “a little too naked.” O’Neal believes that her father’s envy may have played a role in preventing her from auditioning for the role, which ultimately earned Jodie Foster her first Oscar nomination. "And I never really recovered from that," O’Neal stated.
Despite starring in successful movies like "The Bad News Bears," "International Velvet," and "Little Darlings," Tatum’s career began to decline during her teenage years. She attributed this decline to her father’s constant criticism, which eroded her confidence in her acting abilities. “He was controlling, and telling me, ‘No, you’re not good,’” she told Variety. “And so then I started to get not good, feeling scared all the time.”
Tatum O’Neal’s personal struggles with addiction became increasingly public. She has shared that she was first given alcohol at her mother’s house when she was six years old and alleged that Ryan introduced her and her brother to drugs. Her fame and hard-partying lifestyle made her a frequent subject of tabloid coverage, further hindering her career opportunities.
In 1984, she began a highly publicized and tumultuous relationship with tennis star John McEnroe, who also battled addiction. The couple married in 1986 and had three children: Kevin, 38, Sean, 37, and Emily, 33. Their marriage ended in a bitter divorce in 1994.
After her divorce, O’Neal attempted to revive her acting career, but her struggles with heroin addiction derailed her efforts. She continued to take on minor roles in movies and guest appearances in TV shows while battling her addiction.
Tatum and Ryan O’Neal were estranged for nearly 20 years before reconciling in 2009 following Farrah Fawcett’s death. In 2011, they starred in the OWN reality series "Ryan and Tatum: The O’Neals," which documented their attempts to repair their damaged relationship, but the show ultimately failed to bridge the gap between them.
In May 2020, Tatum O’Neal suffered a stroke after overdosing on pain medication, opiates, and morphine. She was hospitalized and remained in a coma for six weeks, resulting in lingering aphasia, which affected her ability to speak, read, and write.
During her interview with Variety, O’Neal admitted that she questioned whether she wanted to survive the stroke, even for her children. "I love them so much, but I’d already given so much," she said. "Part of me just didn’t want to make it, you know?"
However, O’Neal expressed a desire to leave her self-destructive habits behind after her near-death experience. “Now I don’t want to hurt myself,” O’Neal said. “Now I don’t want to f—ing take drugs again — I really don’t.” Despite making progress in her recovery from the stroke, she still experiences memory issues and chronic pain. She also underwent back surgery and is relearning how to read.
Tatum admitted that she relapsed on the night of the U.S. presidential election when Donald Trump emerged victorious. “I was with my gay friends, and was like, ‘I’m going to have a glass of wine — maybe two,’” she recalled. “And then I was like, ‘OK, damn: I have one day of sobriety.’”
Tatum revealed that she saw Ryan three times before he passed away. Shortly before his death, she visited him at his Malibu home, which was later destroyed in a fire. She declined an offer from Ryan to take drugs during that visit, recalling, “I know he was drinking, smoking a lot of pot, and he was like, ‘Here, take a pill,’” she says. “I was like, ‘No, thank you.’” However, her son Kevin noted that she did drink that day, emphasizing that something always seemed to happen whenever she saw her father.
While inheriting part of Ryan’s estate would have helped with her medical and rehabilitation bills, Tatum said that she has found a new sense of freedom since her father’s death. Kevin shared his view that O’Neal is now "letting go of how much space he took up in her life," noting that she was often defined as the person who was abused by Ryan.
“There wasn’t much of a desire to be like, ‘I can do great things,’” Kevin told his mother. “And I think today you can do great things.” He also revealed that he is developing a documentary about his mother, hoping that it will generate income to help cover some of her medical expenses.
“As she changes, I think opportunities have begun to change for her,” McEnroe says. “More things are coming our way as she starts to see the good in people and the good in the world.”
“Something really shifted when he died that allowed her to be —” “Yes, just Tatum! Without my dad,” she interjected. “Just Tatum is enough,” Kevin told her.
When asked if she felt that she was “almost there,” Tatum responded, “Yes!” “Even better than almost enough,” she added, signaling a renewed sense of self-worth and optimism for the future.
