Kristy McNichol is a former American actress. She became famous for the roles of “Angel” in the movie Little Darlings and “Barbara Weston” in the sitcom Empty Nest. As you may already know, she decided to retire from her acting career in 2001 regardless of her fame and success. However, did you ever wonder what is she doing these days? What happened to her? And how much is her net worth today? This article has the answers for you.
Who is Kristy McNichol, and how was her early life like?
Kristy or Christina Ann McNichol was born on September 11th, 1962, in Los Angeles, and her parents are James and Carolyn McNichol. She is of Irish-Lebanese descent and has two brothers, Jimmy and Tommy McNichol.
However, life is not always a bed of roses. Her parents divorced when Mcnichol was only 6 years old, and it was a difficult time for her back then. She and her brothers had lived with their mother after the separation.
How did Kristy McNichol become an actress?
McNichol first started her acting career when she was 6 years old. Previously, she was a commercial actress and then was a guest in the series Love, American Style, episode “Love and the Unsteady” in 1973. A year later, she finally got her first regular role as “Patricia Apple” in the series Apple’s Way when she was only 12 years old. However, the role that brought her great success and fame is “Letitia Buddy Lawrence” from “Family”, an American drama series aired in 1976-1980.
Thanks to her best performance in this series, McNichol had the opportunity to star not only in dozens of tv series but also in many films. For the first time, she was cast in the movie Black Sunday in 1977 but unfortunately, her scene was not aired. A year later, we finally saw her in the movie “The End” and “Like Mom, Like me”, which was the first big opportunity to her film career path.
How many awards does Kristy McNichol get during her 24 years in showbiz?
It is undeniable that Kristy McNichol was one of the most shining teen stars at the time, proven by a total of 4 awards and 5 nominations. Below is the list of awards she won:
- The role of “Letitia Buddy Lawrence” from the series Family brought McNichol many awards. The first one is a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the Drama Series in 1977 and again in 1979.
- People’s Choice Award for Favorite Young Motion Picture Actress in 1980.
- In 1982, she won a Young Artist Award and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for the comedy-dramatic movie Only When I Laugh.
Besides, she was also nominated 4 times because of her impressive acting in the Family series: 2 for Primetime Emmy Award, 1 for Golden Globe, and another for Young Artist Award.
How did Kristy McNichol start her singer career?
Kristy McNicol is indeed amazing and talented because she is not only good at acting but also at singing. In 1977, she had a chance to perform on The Carpenters Christmas Special, and she really enjoyed the show. A year later she had an album “Kristy and Jimmy” with her brother and a single “He’s So Fine” which was a hit.
Kristy McNicol and Jimmy McNicol promoted their album together at Studio 54, a disco nightclub in New York City. Moreover, the two were also invited to be a part of a TV special called Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait for the second year.
What happened to Kristy McNichol? Why did she quit the showbiz?
Her long journey in the film industry is not always beautiful. In 1982, she was nominated for Golden Raspberry Worst Actress Award for the role of Mabel Stanley in the movie The Pirate. This made McNochol extremely anxious and affected her work because she cried all the time even during the film shooting. It took her a year to recover from her breakdown, but it was still one of the reasons for her mental health degradation in the coming years.
Eventually, Kristy McNichol announced her retirement from the entertainment industry in 2001 because of her psychological health. She had suffered from depression and bipolar disorder caused by the high pressure and stress from work for a very long time. According to her statement, McNichol said that she felt sorry to fans who may be disappointed with her decision, but it was time to move on and take care of herself.
How about Kristy McNichol’s love life?
Regarding her love life, Kristy McNichol has been dating Martie Allen, an American actress in 1991 and married her privately a few years later. Yes, they are lesbian, and it was some big news when McNichol announced her relationship to the public in 2012. This is because she had an intention to be a voice for the gay community and encourage the victims of sexual bullying.
What does Kristy McNichol do right now after retirement?
Even though Kristy McNichol quit her acting career, she didn’t absolutely abandon the world of acting. She worked as an acting teacher at a school in Los Angeles in order to transfer her knowledge including 20 years of experience to her students.
Today, McNichol is 59 years old. She lives a simple and happy life with her lovely miniature dachshunds and enjoys doing yoga or playing tennis in her free time. Besides, she also spends time helping charity works and many foundations.
How much is Kristy McNichol’s net worth today?
According to many sources, Kristy McNichol’s net worth is about $7 – $8 million. Her incomes come mainly from royalties of her series as well as movies. Also, she earned money as a brand ambassador.
Now you know everything there is to know about Kristy McNichol, one of America’s favorite actress of all time. If she hadn’t said goodbye to Hollywood, you probably would have seen her in a couple of recent movies. Although we can’t see her in new films, we will see McNichol in re-run episodes of her old movies that are still popular to this day.