The estranged father-daughter duo reconciled after the passing away of Farrah Fawcett.
Ryan O'Neal, a former boxer who is currently one of Hollywood's top actors, recently turned 82. His cherished daughter Tatum O'Neal joined in the celebration as she uploaded a cute photo of herself clutching onto her puppy as her father grins sitting beside her on the side of the bed. Fans also enjoyed spotting an Andy Warhol portrait of Farrah Fawcett in the background. The actress and her father, Ryan O'Neal, who turned 82 on April 27, share a beautiful smile on the Instagram post together as reported by PEOPLE. The post is captioned, “Happy birthday Dad I love you."
The birthday image garnered a lot of praise since the 59-year-old Academy Award winner and her father had come a long way since healing a 20-year-broken relationship. Tatum and O'Neal were estranged for a long time. In 1973, they first collaborated on the movie Paper Moon, which made Tatum, then 10 years old, the youngest actor to ever receive an Academy Award. However, it was widely known that the actors' relationship was strained. Tatum even discussed it in her gripping book A Paper Life, published in 2004. However, Tatum acknowledged that their reconciliation was greatly aided by Fawcett's passing.
Despite spending nearly three decades together and having a son named Redmond, O'Neal and Fawcett never got hitched. When O'Neal was afflicted with leukemia and Fawcett was there to care for him, the couple—who had split up in 1997—reconnected. Tatum was 16 years old when her mother, actress Joanna Moore, was battling drug addiction, and her father was dating Fawcett. Tatum thus felt abandoned and "at the curb." All of O'Neal's shortcomings as a parent collapsed with the death of the latter. After Tatum's mother passed away, O'Neal understood how much he had hurt her and how isolated she had been.
He acknowledged that he left his daughter when she lost her mother and that Tatum was within his rights to be upset as per New York Post. Although they exchanged hurtful words with one another, they have since grown stronger than ever and have stopped dwelling on the past. O'Neal extended an olive branch as a result of the encounter, according to Tatum. He expressed regret for the years that had been lost, and Tatum was ready to mend their connection because he was the only relative she had left. Tatum was affected by the strained connection she had with her father as well as the stress brought on by receiving the record-breaking prize.
She also mentioned in the biography how her parents' absence from the award ceremony made her Oscar moment bittersweet, according to Nicki Swift. Her mother did not even acknowledge the achievement, and her father, who was out of town filming, could only congratulate her over the phone. But ever since they crossed paths at Fawcett's funeral, their relationship has only gotten better.
References:
https://nypost.com/2011/05/31/bad-dad/
https://www.nickiswift.com/345631/tragic-details-about-tatum-oneal/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CrTnT4opDZ9/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Michael Buckner
