Jennifer O'Neill | |
|---|---|
 O'Neill circa 1982 | |
| Born | February 20, 1948 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Education | Dalton School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] |
| Spouses | Deed Rossiter
(m. 1965; div. 1971)Joseph Koster
(m. 1972; div. 1974)John Lederer
(m. 1979; div. 1983)Richard Alan Brown
(m. 1986; div. 1989)
(m. 1993; div. 1996)Mervin Sidney Louque Jr.
(m. 1996) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | www |
Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948)[2] is a Brazilian-born American author, model and former actress. Born in Brazil, and moving to the United States as an infant, she first came to prominence as a teenage model, as well as for her spokesperson work for CoverGirl cosmetics, which began in 1963 and spanned three decades. She made her feature film debut in the comedy film For Love of Ivy (1968), followed by a lead role in Howard Hawks's Western film Rio Lobo (1970).
O'Neill's breakthrough role came in Robert Mulligan's period drama Summer of '42 (1971), in which she portrayed the wife of an army serviceman during World War II, who becomes the subject of a teenage boy's romantic attraction. The same year, she starred in Otto Preminger's Such Good Friends. In the mid-1970s, O'Neill appeared in several Italian films, including Luchino Visconti's final feature, The Innocent (1976), and Lucio Fulci's giallo horror film The Psychic (1977). She later starred in David Cronenberg's cult horror film Scanners (1981), and in the short-lived television series Cover Up (1984–1985).
In 1988, O'Neill became a born-again Christian and, inspired by her feelings of regret over having an abortion at age 22, became active in the anti-abortion movement. She has since authored several books, including a memoir, Surviving Myself (1999), in which she detailed her career, marriages, experiences with anxiety and postpartum depression, and her religious faith. O'Neill founded the Hope & Healing at Hillenglade foundation in Nashville, Tennessee, an equine therapy foundation that specializes in treating war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Since the 1990s, O'Neill has occasionally appeared in film and television, including roles in the independent film Doonby (2013) and the Rachel Scott biopic I'm Not Ashamed (2016).
- ^ Sheppard, Eugenia (May 11, 1965). "Fashion Model Makes Headlines—She's Pretty". The Tampa Tribune. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jennifer O'Neill Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023.