Tatum O’Neal answered candidly when she got asked about her reaction to her later father, Ryan O’Neal’s will. The actor died in December 2023 from congestive heart failure at the age of 82, and he notably left out his daughter from his inheritance.
The 61-year-old actress graced Variety‘s new issue in late February and discussed many things about her life with the outlet. Among them was how she received the news about her father’s decision not to include her in his last will. The two had a long history of estrangement, marked by bitter feuds, tell-all memoirs, and public jabs.
According to O’Neal, she only had three words when she found out about her late father’s final rejection from beyond the grave: “Keep it, mother f—er.”
This was in stark contrast to how she handled Ryan’s passing two years ago. At the time, despite their differences, she made a public tribute to him via an Instagram video, where she even said, “He is in Heaven now.” But now it’s clear that there was no love lost between the father and daughter.
Tatum shot to stardom at just 10 years old with her Oscar-winning role in Paper Moon. For a time, she was considered the highest-paid child star after the movie’s success. But as of late, she seems to be living modestly, with Celebrity Net Worth listing her net worth at just $1 million. Had she gotten an inheritance from her dad, who had a $30 million net worth at the time of his death, Tatum could have been living more comfortably at present.
An inheritance would have helped with her medical bills since she suffered a near-fatal stroke in 2020. She also claims an accountant scammed her out of a million dollars during her heroin addiction. Despite her situation, she’s making peace with her dad’s decision. Her son, Kevin McEnroe, 38, who also spoke with the outlet, affirmed it’s for the best since “that money was blood money.”
The actress almost spent a lifetime grappling with her father’s shadow. When she made history with Paper Moon, their relationship was destroyed. In her 2004 memoir A Paper Life, she claimed people told her that Ryan “slugged” her after her nomination because he resented her success.
However, when she addressed the issue in an interview with NBC News, she maintained that she could not recall the alleged incident. Still, she insisted that her father never forgave her for outshining him.
Ryan, for his part, denied the allegations, calling his daughter’s book “malicious lies” and suggesting it was nothing more than a desperate bid for attention. “It is a sad day when lies are told to sell books,” he said at the time.
But the bad blood between them went far deeper than old Hollywood rivalries. Tatum’s childhood was filled with chaos as her mother, Joanna Moore, lost custody of her and her brother Griffin due to addiction, and she claimed Ryan was physically and emotionally abusive. Their on-again, off-again attempts at reconciliation, including a short-lived reality show, Ryan and Tatum: The O’Neals, did little to mend the damage.
Tatum O’Neal for Variety, photographed by Nino Muñoz. https://t.co/sP68qpWptU pic.twitter.com/R1B8IPboXF
— Variety (@Variety) February 26, 2025
Even in their final moments together, Ryan allegedly continued to enable Tatum’s demons. “The last time I saw him, he offered me drugs,” she revealed. “He was like, ‘Here, take a pill.’ I said, ‘No, thank you.’”
Kevin, who witnessed their tumultuous dynamic for years, said that every time Tatum saw Ryan, she seemed to spiral. With Ryan gone, Tatum is now ready to close that chapter in her life and move forward, even without getting an inheritance.
Published: Mar 2, 2025 02:19 pm