Kristy McNichol Now: Why the 'Family' Star Left Hollywood Behind

Before teen idols were carefully polished for magazine covers and filtered for Instagram, there was Kristy McNichol. She didn't just act like a teenager-she was one. And more than that, she felt like one. Raw, emotional and unafraid to be vulnerable, McNichol connected with audiences in a way few others ever have. In the late '70s and early '80s, she was genuinely adored.

What made her so special wasn't just her undeniable talent, but how real she seemed, lighting up a scene as Buddy on Family (co-starring with Meredith Baxter), going toe-to-toe with Tatum O'Neal in Little Darlings or just chatting honestly on a talk show. It didn't feel like she was acting-and maybe that's because she wasn't really pretending.

But being that open, raw and real came at a cost. After years of constant work, fame and the quiet burden of hiding parts of herself, McNichol made a bold choice in that she stepped away. No tabloid scandals or headline meltdowns, but rather a decision to prioritize her health and peace of mind over staying in the spotlight. Which is probably what makes her story stand out so much. While she faced struggles, she made it through them and came out the other side, not for applause but for herself.

Her breakthrough on ‘Family'

Kristy McNichol-born Christina Ann McNichol in Los Angeles on September 11, 1962-hit it big as Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence on ABC's Family. The show ran from 1976 to 1980, and McNichol was just 13 when she landed the role. And right from the start, there was something about her performance that made people stop and take notice.

Along the way, she won two Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (in '77 and '79) and even scored a Golden Globe nomination in 1978. Pretty impressive for a teenager who, at that point, had barely started high school.

Buddy Lawrence was a thoughtful, often conflicted teen and real, which is because McNichol brought so much of herself to the role. In a 1979 interview with McCall's, she said, "Buddy and I have been growing up together these past three years on the show. I made her like me… I made her wear her hair the way I do mine and wear clothes I like." When asked how she managed to tap into such emotional depth, her answer was simple: "It's easy, because I'm just playing myself."

Even TV Insider, decades later, would call her "the most popular and acclaimed teen actor of her era," praising both her charisma and serious acting ability.

From teen TV to big-screen star

While Kristy had already proven herself on television, it wasn't long before Hollywood came calling. Her big-screen debut came in The End (1978), a dark comedy starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. She played Reynolds' teenage daughter and even though the film was satirical and offbeat, Kristy grounded it with genuine emotion.  Then, in 1980, came Little Darlings in 1980-and with it, the moment Kristy McNichol became a full-on cultural phenomenon. Paired opposite Tatum O'Neal in a story about two teenage girls making a bet to lose their virginity at summer camp, the movie stirred up plenty of conversation. Some of it was controversy, but a lot of it was praise-especially for McNichol.

Her character, Angel Bright, was tough, street-smart, and guarded. But underneath all that bravado was a vulnerability that she brought out. Audiences saw themselves in her and critics took notice. Roger Ebert, in his 3.5-star review, singled her out: "McNichol gives one of those performances that makes you want to know what she'll do next." Spoiler: what she did next was keep climbing.

In 1981, she co-starred in Only When I Laugh, a Neil Simon dramedy where she played the daughter of a recovering alcoholic mother, played by Marsha Mason. It was another emotionally charged role, earning her a Golden Globe nomination. And that same year, she also starred opposite Dennis Quaid in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, a Southern-set drama that may not have earned the same critical acclaim, but did land McNichol a six-figure salary-huge money for a teenage actress at the time.

Through the '80s, she kept working steadily. There was The Pirate Movie (1982), a campy, musical comedy that became a cult favorite for some and a guilty pleasure for others. In Dream Lover (1986), she tackled darker territory in a psychological thriller directed by Alan J. Pakula. Then came You Can't Hurry Love (1988), a romantic comedy, and The Forgotten One (1989), a supernatural romance. Not every project hit big, but McNichol's performances always had something sincere and compelling.

Returning to TV in ‘Empty Nest'

By the late '80s, McNichol made her return to television in a big way-this time on the NBC sitcom Empty Nest, a spin-off of The Golden Girls. She played Barbara Weston, a sharp, no-nonsense cop and the more grounded of two adult daughters living with their widowed father, played by Richard Mulligan. The show found a comfy spot in NBC's Saturday night lineup, right alongside The Golden Girls and Nurses, and became a reliable hit.

Fans loved seeing her back on screen and she stuck with Empty Nest for five seasons, but in 1992, partway through Season 5, she quietly left the series. At the time, there wasn't much public explanation, but years later Kristy opened up.

Kristy McNichol attends Day 1 of the 2010 Chiller Theatre Expo at Hilton on October 29, 2010 in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Kristy McNichol attends Day 1 of the 2010 Chiller Theatre Expo at Hilton on October 29, 2010 in Parsippany, New Jersey.

In a 2001 statement, she explained, "Many people have asked me why I left the show. It was because I was suffering from manic depression [now more commonly called bipolar disorder], but I didn't want to talk about it at the time. It was very private. Now I want to tell people the truth."

It was a courageous thing to share, especially considering how rare it was then for celebrities to speak publicly about mental health. For Kristy, though, she was driven by honesty rather than a need for attention.

Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal, who starred in Little Darlings together, reunite at Day 1 of the Chiller Theatre Expo at Sheraton Parsippany Hotel on October 24, 2014 in Parsippany, New Jersey.

She returned one last time for the Empty Nest series finale in 1995, giving the character-and the fans-a proper goodbye. But after that, her only screen work came in the form of voice roles in a couple of animated series: Extreme Ghostbusters in 1997 and Invasion America in 1998. And then, just like that, Kristy McNichol stepped off the stage.

Finding herself

Kristy McNichol, Rich Little and Lee Meriwether attends Love Boat Cast Christening Of Regal Princess Cruise Ship at Port Everglades on November 5, 2014 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Kristy McNichol, Rich Little and Lee Meriwether attends Love Boat Cast Christening Of Regal Princess Cruise Ship at Port Everglades on November 5, 2014 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

By the mid-1990s, Kristy had quietly left show business. She didn't call it retirement back then, but she gradually faded from public view, focusing instead on healing and figuring out who she was outside of Hollywood.

She started teaching acting at a private school in Los Angeles, sharing her experience with the next generation in a low-key, meaningful way. For a while, she also spent time at the Beverly Hills hair salon run by Giuseppe Franco, a longtime friend and former roommate. According to Franco, Kristy wasn't interested in being "Kristy McNichol, Movie Star" anymore. She just wanted something normal. "She wanted to do something real," he said. "She was sick and tired of acting."

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Then, in January 2012, McNichol made a different kind of headline-this time on her own terms. Through her publicist, she came out as a lesbian, confirming she'd been in a committed relationship with her partner Martie Allen since the early '90s. The reason for going public, she said, was simple: she wanted to "help others who feel different," the statement read, "and to support kids who are being bullied." She added that she was "very happy and healthy" and that coming out was a way to embrace her truth.

For someone who'd spent so much of her early life under intense scrutiny while carrying a deeply private burden, it was something of a revolutionary moment. And true to form, she didn't do it for the attention.

Today, at 62, she's remembered fondly by fans who grew up with Buddy Lawrence, rooted for Angel in Little Darlings or laughed alongside Barbara Weston. But she's also respected-maybe even more so-for the way she quietly reclaimed her life.

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