What '70s Icon Ali MacGraw Looks Like After Trading Hollywood For A Quiet Life
Ali MacGraw's career was a runaway success. She won a Golden Globe right off the bat for "Goodbye, Columbus" (1969), her first lead film role, and a year later, "Love Story" made her a star, earning her yet another Golden Globe. But it quickly fizzled out from there. After skyrocketing to fame, the once popular '70s star completely vanished from the spotlight. However, she has certainly retained her timeless beauty. Born in 1939, the '70s icon still looks as elegant as ever.
As the picture below from March 2020 shows, MacGraw still boasts that same youthful smile that highlights her beautiful facial structure. Her thick eyebrows are also still going strong. On the other hand, she has ditched the iconic stick-straight hairstyle that helped catapult her to fame in "Love Story," a tear-jerker that also made a star of Ryan O'Neal. Nowadays, she embraces her natural gray hair, which she often sports pulled back tightly in an elegant 'do. She also dresses the part. Largely opting for neutrals, MacGraw can often be seen in all-black or black-and-white ensembles.
Michael Kovac/Getty
Like her younger self, MacGraw still wears minimal makeup, embracing her natural beauty. That was always one of her hallmarks, one that has inspired women across generations. That includes the famous makeup artist Bobbi Brown. "[Watching 'Love Story' is] when I suddenly realized there's more than one kind of beauty — and that guess what? I could be beautiful, too," she wrote for Bustle in 2020. All these years later, MacGraw still takes a similar approach to her beauty and lifestyle.
Ali MacGraw embarked on a lifelong self-improvement journey
Becoming an overnight star is never easy. Even though she was in her early 30s when "Love Story" came out, she still faced many of the hardships that befall actors who are thrown into the spotlight. Just a couple of years into her acting career, MacGraw had one of the messiest celebrity affairs of the '70s when she jumped into a relationship with Steve McQueen while still married to producer Robert Evans. They tied the knot in 1973, a marriage marked by addiction on both sides.
Their breakup in 1977 and her unsuccessful attempts to revive her career impacted her mental health, which eventually led to addiction. But she turned things around in 1985, when she went into rehab. She has been on a self-recovery journey ever since. She has been sober and living a calm life in Santa Fe, New Mexico, prioritizing her health and well-being. "I live a very healthy lifestyle that would probably bore the daylights out of people," she told CBS News in 2007, highlighting that she practices yoga and meditation daily.
MacGraw joked, "I do all the things we were told as kids: I don't smoke or do drugs, I don't drink. It's not to be prissy; it's just that it's healthier for me." Despite finding her peace, MacGraw does show frustration over the inability to revive her career after getting her life back on track, calling out the ageism in Hollywood. "So often I wish I could work in Europe because in Europe there's more reverence for people over 35," she said. "And we get to look like women over 35 really look."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).