Actor Ali MacGraw sacrificed her own career for Steve McQueen

Ali MacGraw became a Hollywood superstar overnight. But just as quickly as she rose to fame, she disappeared from show business altogether.

Ali MacGraw
Ali MacGraw – born Elizabeth Alice MacGraw – was born on April 1, 1939, in Pound Ridge, New York, USA. Her mother, Frances, was an artist and worked at a school in Paris, later settling in Greenwich Village. She married Richard MacGraw, who was also an artist. In 1939, Ali was born.

Ali’s father Richard supposedly had issues from his own childhood which made him a little bit different from others.

He had survived a terrible childhood in an orphanage, running away at the age of 16 to go to sea. He would later study at an art school in Munich, Germany.

“Daddy was frightened and really, really angry. He never forgave his real parents for giving him up,” Ali explained, saying said her father’s adult life was spent “suppressing the rage that covered all his hurt.”

Ali MacGraw – childhood
Money was short for their family, too. Frances and Richard, together with Ali and her brother, Richard Jr, had to move into a house on a Pound Ridge wilderness preserve which they shared with an elderly couple.

“There were no doors; we shared the kitchen and bathroom with them,” Ali said. “It was utter lack of privacy. It was horrible.”

Mom Francis worked with several commercial-art assignments and supported the family. At the same time, Richard had a hard time selling his paintings, and as a result became very frustrated. Ali’s brother Richard became a victim for his anger at home.

“On good days he was great, but on bad days he was horrendous,” she recalled. “Daddy would beat my brother up, badly. I was witness to it, and it was terrible.”

Ali was the daughter of artists, and she knew that she, too, wanted to go into a creative line of work as she got older. She earned a scholarship at the prep school Rosemary Hall, and in 1956, she moved to study at Wellesley College in Massachusetts

By the age of 22, Ali MacGraw moved to New York and got her first job as an assistant editor at Harper’s Bazaar, working with photographers as an assistant.

Fashion work in New York
Fashion editor Diana Vreeland hired Ali as, what she recalls as, a “flunkie”. Ever seen the film The Devil Wears Prada? Well, it was pretty much that.

“It was ‘Girl! Get me a pencil!’,” MacGraw recalled.

The future Hollywood celebrity worked her job as an assistant for several months. Then, about six months in, fashion photographer Melvin Sokolsky noticed her beautiful looks, and Ali MacGraw was hired as a stylist,and given a better salary. She’d end up staying in that position for six years.

“I don’t know where she got this work ethic, but Ali would come in at eight a.m., and many times I’d come back at one in the morning and she would still be doing things for the next day,” Ruth Ansel, a former art director of Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar recalls.

Ali was great as a stylist. But soon, she was asked to work in front of the cameras as a model. It didn’t take long before she was on magazine covers all over the world, even appearing in television commercials. For thing led to another, and Ali tumbled headfirst into the profession of acting.


She had been sketched nude by Salvador Dali a couple of years earlier. But when the surrealist artist started sucking her toes, MacGraw decided that she’d rather be an actress than a model.

Ali MacGraw – films
Ali went straight from an unknown stylist and into the world of cinema, and boy, did she do it with a bang.

She was untutored in the art of film, which gave her acting another dimension. Her natural beauty was stunning, and the audience loved her.

Following a small role in A Lovely Way to Die (1968), she was asked to star in the 1969 film Goodbye, Columbus. It turned out to be a great call, with MacGraw receiving a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female. The following year, she got her big international breakthrough with a role that would pretty much sum up her career.

Ali MacGraw had received a script from her agent. She’d read it and wept twice because of how much she loved it. She decided she really wanted a part in it, and got herself a meeting with the film’s producer Robert Evans – who at the time was Paramount Picture’s head of production – at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge. Not only did Evans think she was perfect for the part in the movie Love Story, he absolutely fell in love with her.

MacGraw – playing the role of Jenny – acted alongside Ryan O’Neal in the movie Love Story. The American romantic drama film, in which Ali played a working-class college student, became a smash hit.


Love Story hit the cinemas in 1970, and wow did the audience cherish it. It became the No. 1 film in the United States, and at the time, it was the sixth highest grossing movie in history in the US and Canada.

Award-winning actress
MacGraw earned an Academy Award nomination for her role, and the film itself earned her another win and five Academy Award Nominations. She also won herself a second Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Film producer Robert Evans not only loved her on screen, he had fallen in love with her in real life, and that love was reciprocated. In 1969, the couple tied the knot, and two years later, they welcomed their son, Josh Evans.

Ali MacGraw was the hot new star of the 1970s, but her private life and marriage with Evans would soon come to an end. Steve McQueen had visited their home to ask her to star alongside him in The Getaway, and the two Hollywood stars clicked right away.

“I looked in those blue eyes, and my knees started knocking,” MacGraw recalled. “I became obsessed.”


MacGraw and McQueen had an affair, and she soon left Evans to live with the actor in Malibu, along with her son Josh.

“Steve was this very original, principled guy who didn’t seem to be part of the system, and I loved that,” she said.

Ali MacGraw – Steve McQueen
But after a while, Ali realized that Steve McQueen had his own problems. Following his father abandoning his mother, a then-14-year-old Steve was sent to a school for delinquent children. MacGraw said he never trusted women after that.


He didn’t like that she worked and had her own career. For a while, Ali stayed home to raise their sons. But her husband’s demands were something Ali simply couldn’t accept in the long run.

Not only that, but he’d explode if she even looked at another man. He also wanted her to sign a prenuptial agreement, promising not to ask for anything if they’d divorce. She abided by the agreement when they did divorce in 1978.

“I couldn’t even go to art class because Steve expected his ‘old lady’ to be there every night with dinner on the table,” she recalled.

“Steve’s idea of hot was not me. He liked blond bimbos, and they were always around.”


This was the start of a pretty dark time in MacGraw’s life. She arrived on set to shoot the 1978 film Convoy both drunk and high, which prompted her to quit drugs.

Leaving show business
At the same time, several of her movies, such as Players (1970) and Just Tell Me What You Want (1980) flopped.

“It’s brutal for women,” MacGraw told The Guardian about returning to show business in the late 1970s.


“I don’t think there’s a woman over 40 who’s ever been conspicuously in the spotlight who doesn’t get sick of the kind of questioning the media lays on you, the fashion industry, all of it. It’s cruel.”

MacGraw had a short stint as a Hollywood superstar actress. Thereafter, she decided to start working in interior design instead, but didn’t fully give up on her show business career. She appeared in the television miniseries The Winds of War (1983) and China Rose (1985), but soon, her life would change for the worse.

Ali MacGraw simply couldn’t get any work in film, and she thought she was useless. At the same time, she didn’t feel complete unless she had a partner, describing being in love like “a drug high”.


She felt alone and desperate, and drank heavily. In 1986, she checked herself into the Betty Ford Clinic in California.

“The worst stuff happened when I drank,” she said. “I lost my judgment; I fancied other women’s husbands.”

Family tragedies
Her son Josh Evans was 15 at the time and had a hard time watching his mother suffering. MacGraw spent 30 days in group therapy and came out a stronger person.

In 1993, another family tragedy occurred when her house in California burnt down due to a wildfire. She then decided to move from Los Angeles and settled in a town near Santa Fe, New Mexico.


“I live in a little village north of Santa Fe, New Mexico called Tesuque,” she revealed last year.

According to McGraw, her neighbors don’t see her as a former Hollywood star – instead they appreciate all the community work she’s been doing.

For example, she has been doing volunteer work at the annual International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Ali MacGraw left acting, but in 2006, she found herself once again on stage. She reunited with her Love Story co-actor Ryan O’Neal in the Broadway adaptation of the Danish film Festen.

Outside of the Broadway show, MacGraw’s been out of the spotlight the last couple of decades. She’s put her heart into work for animal rights … and produced plenty of successful yoga videos.

Speaking to the Herald-Tribune in 2019, MacGraw stated that she’s still open to new adventures and work.

“One of the lucky things for someone my age is that I’m open and curious,” MacGraw said. “There’s not just one thing I love to do and feel bereft if I can’t. But I know that I’m not happy when I’m not doing something creative.”

Josh Evans – Ali MacGraw
Even though Ali left acting, her family still has a foot in the business. Son Josh Evans is an actor and director, and he’s made a great name for himself in Hollywood.

Also, he looks so much like his mother!

Being the child of Hollywood celebrities Robert Evans and Ali MacGraw certainly came with plenty of pressure.

But for Josh Evans, born in January of 1971, it was pretty much show business he wanted to do from the start.

The first job he ever wanted to do, however, wasn’t in the film business. He didn’t dream about working as an actor, but it was just one of those things that happened.

In 1989, Josh Evans had a small part in Dream a Little Dream (1989), but he wanted to do more. As a teenager with nothing to lose, he used to go to the manager’s office to see the breakdowns of movies being made.

Josh Evans – actor & director
That’s when he met someone he recognized in famous director Oliver Stone. He was making Born on the Fourth of July at the time, starring Tom Cruise. And Josh wanted in.

“At the time I just knew [Oliver Stone] from Platoon. He was making a movie with Tom Cruise and there was a role for the little brother. I wanted to play that part, so he got me a meeting with Oliver Stone,” Josh Evans recalls.

“When I sat with him, Oliver asked ‘Oh, you think you look like Tom Cruise?’. Now knowing him, I realize he was mocking me, but I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ So, he said, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ Four months later, I got a call to audition and I got the part. It was very exciting and you could feel how special that movie was going to be.”

Since then, Josh has had a great career both acting and directing. He starred in the biographic film The Doors in 1991 and since, he’s been both acting and directing.

With eight films on his resume as a director, he actually had Michael Madsen starring in his 2015 film Death in the Desert. But what does he like best?

“I am definitely more comfortable on the side of the camera that does not show myself,” Josh Evans says.

“If an interesting opportunity presents itself, I am not opposed to it. I think there are other people out there who are more qualified and want it more than I do. As far as directing and telling my stories, I would do that for free, whereas acting is more of a job, but I enjoy it once I do it.”

Josh Evans – family
Josh is a really handsome man, and the resemblance to her mother Ali MacGraw truly is great, especially in his big wonderful eyes.

In 2019, his father – Ali’s ex-husband – Robert Evans passed away. However, the family had the great memory of being together for him when he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

Josh has been married twice. In October 2012, he married American singer and musician Roxy Saint. By then, their son Jackson was two years old – Grandma Ali MacGraw loves spending time with her wonderful family.

“He’s so wonderful,” MacGraw said about her son. “He’s my favorite human being on the planet, and he goes out with a girl I’m nuts about. Their relationship is so much about, among other things, friendship and respect.”

Ali MacGraw and Josh Evans surely are very proud of their wonderful family. We wish them all the best in the future, and who knows, maybe we’ll see them on the same stage or movie set in the future?

I Went to My School Reunion to Take Revenge on My Childhood Crush, Until I Learned What Really Happened Back Then — Story of the Day

Joan scrolled through her school album remembering what her thoughts were back then. It had already been twenty years since graduation, but Joan still remembered the boy who broke her young heart. In anticipation of meeting him at the reunion, she didn’t know that he hadn’t been the one to blame.

As I sat flipping through my old school photos, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over me. It had been 20 years since I graduated, but looking at the pictures made it feel like just yesterday.

There I was—young Joana Cooper, with that silly, hopeful smile plastered on my face, and beneath my yearbook photo, a cheesy quote I once thought was so profound:

“Love is a two-person job.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I laughed at how naive I had been back then, but my laughter quickly faded as my eyes landed on his photo. Chad Barns. My high school crush. The boy who had captured my heart for years.

I had been head over heels for Chad back then—leaving secret love notes in his locker, trying to flirt in my awkward teenage way, and even stuffing valentines into his backpack when I thought no one was looking.

I was convinced we’d end up together, that he was the one.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I imagined our future so vividly, right down to our wedding day. But here I was, 38 years old, still single, and still wondering what had gone wrong.

Why had Chad suddenly shut me out all those years ago? He had ghosted me just before graduation, leaving me confused and heartbroken.

I hadn’t spoken to him since, but the memory of him still haunted me, even after all this time.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Just as I started to sink deeper into my thoughts, the doorbell rang, pulling me back to the present.

I set the photo album aside and went to open the door. My best friend Lora stood there, her usual bright smile lighting up her face.

“Ready for the school reunion, bestie?” she asked, her excitement contagious.

I hesitated, leaning against the doorframe.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Honestly, Lora, I’m not sure I want to go.”

She raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

“Why not? What happened?”

I let out a deep sigh.

“I was just going through my old photos, and it brought back a lot of memories. You know, about Chad.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Lora rolled her eyes dramatically, crossing her arms.

“Chad Barns? You’re still hung up on that after 20 years?”

“I know it sounds ridiculous,” I admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“But it still stings. We were so close, and then he just stopped talking to me, like I didn’t mean anything to him.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Lora stepped closer, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Look, maybe he won’t even show up tonight. And even if he does, don’t let it ruin your night. This reunion is about catching up with old friends and having fun, not reopening old wounds.”

I forced a smile, trying to push my insecurities aside.

“You’re right. But if he’s there… I’ll make sure he remembers exactly what he missed.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Lora grinned.

“That’s the spirit.”

I was nervous the entire drive to the school reunion. My fingers tapped nervously against my lap, and I kept glancing out the window, lost in a whirlwind of emotions.

What if Chad showed up? What if he didn’t? A part of me wasn’t sure which would be worse.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

My heart felt like it was lodged in my throat, and the closer we got, the harder it was to breathe.

As we arrived at the venue, I glanced at my reflection in the rearview mirror one last time, adjusting my hair and smoothing down the fabric of my dress.

I couldn’t shake the nerves that clung to me like a second skin.

“Joan, you look gorgeous. Seriously, stop worrying about Chad—this is your night,” Lora said, her voice soft but firm.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“We’re going to have fun, okay?”

I gave her a weak smile, but the knot in my stomach wouldn’t loosen. “Thanks,” I muttered, still fidgeting with my dress.

“But what if he doesn’t come? I feel like a fool getting all worked up over this. It’s been so long, Lora.”

“You’re not a fool,” Lora said, rolling her eyes as if I had said something ridiculous.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Honestly, if he does show up, don’t waste your energy on him. Let him see what he missed, and let’s make this night about us, not him.”

Her confidence was contagious, and for a moment, I felt reassured. We stepped out of the car and headed toward the entrance, but with every step, my heart pounded harder.

The school loomed in front of me, bringing back a flood of memories—some good, some painful. I couldn’t believe I was walking back into this chapter of my life.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

The reunion felt like stepping into a time machine. Familiar faces greeted us, people I hadn’t seen in years, some who had barely changed, others I barely recognized.

Laughter filled the air as old friends caught up, shared stories, and reminisced about the good old days. I was starting to relax, even enjoying myself, until I saw him.

Chad Barns.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

My heart skipped a beat as I spotted him across the room. He looked different—older, yes, but still handsome in that rugged, confident way I remembered.

He had a neatly trimmed beard now, and as soon as our eyes met, he smiled. A warm, familiar smile that hit me harder than I expected. All the anger and confusion I had buried deep inside for years rushed to the surface.

Why did he shut me out all those years ago? Why had he left me hanging without a word?

Before I could do anything—before I could even process what I was feeling—Lora grabbed my arm, gently but firmly pulling me in the opposite direction.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Remember what I said,” she whispered, her voice steady. “Don’t talk to him.”

“Okay,” I muttered, trying to follow her advice, but part of me was screaming to finally confront Chad, to demand the answers I had been waiting for all these years.

Later in the evening, after we had chatted with a few more classmates, Lora accidentally spilled her drink on her dress. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, looking down at the dark stain.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“I just bought this! I’ll be right back, Joan, I need to go clean this up.”

I watched as she hurried off to the bathroom, leaving me alone for the first time that evening.

I glanced around, feeling a bit lost without Lora by my side. The reunion was in full swing, laughter and music filling the air, but I suddenly needed some space.

Without thinking, I made my way outside, toward the quiet bench in the schoolyard that used to be my favorite spot.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

It was the place where I would sit after classes, lost in my daydreams or writing in my journal. Tonight, it felt like the perfect place to clear my head.

Sitting down, I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the cool night breeze wash over me.

The memories of high school flooded back—how carefree I was back then, how hopeful. And then, the memories of Chad. I shook my head, trying to push them away, but they lingered, just like they always had.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. I opened my eyes and turned to see Chad walking toward me, his familiar smile lighting up his face.

“Hey, Joana,” he said, his voice warm but tentative.

“Chad,” I replied, feeling my heart race in my chest. “It’s been a long time.”

“It has,” he said, stopping a few feet away from the bench. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk to me. You’ve been avoiding me all night.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I laughed nervously, unsure of how to respond. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to talk to me after how things ended in high school.”

Chad looked genuinely confused. “What do you mean? I thought you didn’t want to see me after that letter.”

“Letter?” I repeated, frowning. “I never got a letter, Chad.”

He sighed, his expression turning serious.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“I wrote you a letter asking you out to the park for a date. I left it in your locker, and when you didn’t show up, I figured you weren’t interested. I thought that’s why you stopped talking to me.”

I shook my head, completely stunned.

“Chad, I never got a letter. I thought you stopped talking to me out of nowhere. I couldn’t figure out what I did wrong.”

Before Chad could respond, I heard footsteps again. Lora appeared, looking flustered, her cheeks slightly flushed.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“What are you two talking about?” she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice that I hadn’t noticed before.

“Lora,” I said slowly, piecing things together. “Do you know anything about the letter Chad sent me?”

Her face turned pale, and for a moment, she looked like she was about to deny everything. But then Chad stepped forward.

“Lora, you gave me Joana’s reply. You told me she wasn’t interested.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I turned to look at Lora, my stomach sinking as I saw the guilt in her eyes. “Is that true?” I asked, my voice shaking.

Lora looked down, her face flushed with embarrassment and regret. “I… I was jealous,” she admitted, barely above a whisper.

“I liked Chad, and I didn’t want you two to get together. I thought you’d forget about him if I made sure you never saw that letter.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

My chest tightened with a mix of disbelief and anger.

“You lied to both of us? You ruined everything because you were jealous?”

“I’m sorry,” Lora whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “I never thought it would matter after all these years. I just didn’t want to lose either of you.”

“Go away, Lora,” I said, my voice trembling with the weight of all the emotions I had kept bottled up for years.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

As Lora hurried off, a mix of sadness, anger, and relief washed over me.

Chad stepped closer, his arms wrapping around me in a gentle hug. I leaned into him, feeling the warmth I had missed all these years.

“All this time,” I whispered, my voice shaky, “I thought you didn’t care.”

Chad sighed, his voice soft. “I thought the same about you.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For a moment, we stood there in silence, holding onto each other, letting the weight of the past slowly slip away.

“We can’t change the past,” Chad said, his voice calm, “but we can decide what happens now.”

I looked up at him, wiping away my tears with a small smile. “You’re right.”

We spent the rest of the night sitting on that familiar bench, talking and laughing. We had lost so much time, but I felt hopeful we wouldn’t lose any more.

Tell us what you think about this story, and share it with your friends. It might inspire them and brighten their day.

If you enjoyed this story, read this one: Jim had just seen his girlfriend of ten years in bed with her best friend, and now he was sitting in a bar, drinking with a woman in a wedding dress. He thought his life was over. Ten years felt wasted, but who would have thought that one random meeting could end up saving both of their lives?

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.

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