Ryan ONeal was blessed with blonde, good looks and a charismatic presence. He was born in Los Angeles in 1941 to a show business family. His mother was actress Patricia ONeal and his father was screenwriter Charles ONeal. His brother, Kevin ONeal also became an actor. ONeal began his career in small TV roles and then became a star with Peyton Place. The soap opera gripped the nation during the 1960s and ONeal appeared in 500 episodes. Other regulars included Lee Grant, Mia Farrow, Christopher Connelly and Dorothy Malone.

Blake Edwards cast ONeal in the western, Wild Rovers, opposite Hollywood veteran William Holden. Karl Malden, Tom Skerritt and Joe Don Baker were co-stars. Two films with director Peter Bogdanovich quickly followed. What’s Up, Doc? was a hit comedy in which ONeal starred opposite Barbra Streisand, with Madeline Kahn in support. Then came Paper Moon, pairing ONeal with his own real life daughter, Tatum ONeal. Audiences loved their double act performance as con artists.

The following decades contained their share of flops but ONeal still kept company with the best acting talent. Irreconcilable Differences is a comic drama starring Shelley Long, Drew Barrymore and Sharon Stone. Norman Mailer directed him in Tough Guys Don’t Dance, a thriller starring Isabella Rossellini. ONeal appeared in the romantic comedy Chances Are with Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., and Mary Stuart Masterson. He made another comedy, Zero Effect, starring Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller.

Ryan ONeal has been married and divorced twice, to actresses Joanna Moore and Leigh Taylor-Young. He has also been in an intermittent relationship with Farrah Fawcett, formerly married to his buddy, Lee Majors. ONeal has three other children in addition to Tatum. Griffin ONeal is an actor and Patrick ONeal is an actor and sportscaster. His daughter-in-law is actress Rebecca De Mornay. ONeal was diagnosed with leukemia and is reportedly in remission.