There can not be a list of groundbreaking actresses from the 1970’s without Ali MacGraw. As we celebrate women’s history month and women’s history in general, we should remember that Ali MacGraw stole America’s hearts in Love Story just as 1970 began and her place in cinematic history was solidified. The dark hair, big wide eyes and open spirit are the qualities that made Ali MacGraw one of the top actresses of the 1970’s.
Ali MacGraw was born in Pound Ridge, New York a quick drive up from Manhattan. After graduating Wellesley College in 1960 Ali MacGraw moved down to New York City to work on Harper’s Bazaar. Originally Ali MacGraw was behind the camera but her stunning beauty as well as her work and connection to the infamous designer Diane Vreeland led to Ali becoming a model for Vogue.
According to her IMDB page Ali MacGraw did two relatively unknown films in the late 1960’s A Lovely Way to Die and Goodbye, Columbus. It was Love Story in 1970 that led to Ali MacGraw’s transition from model to Academy Award nominated actress. Love Story is the tale of two Harvard students from different worlds, both academically and financially, connecting with a stronger bond than either could ever imagine. Ask anyone who has seen the film and you will see a tear come to the corner of their eye as they feed you the tagline to Love Story which is ‘love means never having to say you’re sorry. Love Story written by Erich Segal and directed by Author Hiller won an Oscar and Ali MacGraw and her costar Ryan O’Neal were nominated for best actor and best actress in 1970.
After the success of Love Story, Ali MacGraw worked on the film The Getaway where she met Steve McQueen. The Getaway is about Doc and Carol McCoy and their escape from the law after a bank heist goes wrong. Ali MacGraw and Steve McQueen were hot in this 1972 flick and their on screen chemistry turned into a five year marriage between the two. Just after “The Getaway” Ali MacGraw was invited to place her feet and autograph among the stars forever in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Ali MacGraw did a few more movies in the 1970’s and then transitioned to television in the 1980’s. Ali MacGraw played Natalie Jastrow for seven episodes in 1983’s The Winds of War and, perhaps more popular, Lady Ashley Mitchell for fourteen episodes on Dynasty.
Throughout her life Ali MacGraw struggled with a dependence on alcohol and men. Her demons led her through three failed marriages and a stint at the Betty Ford Clinic. However her catharsis led her to become passionate about Hatha Yoga. In 1994 Ali MacGraw teamed up and produced a wonderful yoga DVD with yoga master Erich Schiffmann called Ali MacGraw Yoga Mind and Body. Putting such a famous face with what was still a new fitness practice to the western world in 1994 led Vanity Fair to credit Ali MacGraw with helping yoga to gain the popularity it has today.
Ali MacGraw was a beauty on the covers and inside the pages of Vogue, on the small screen in Dynasty and the big screen in the heart wrenching Love Story and as a mature woman leading the public to know that “love is what is left when you let go of everything else” with her work in yoga. In 1991 People Magazine named Ali MacGraw as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.
Source:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066011/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0532298/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068638/
