‘Love Story’ Star Ali MacGraw Opens Up About ‘Life-Changing Experience’

These days, Ali MacGraw lives a much quieter life. She’s now 83 years old and lives in Tesuque, New Mexico. She said she loves to spend time with her pets and walk outdoors while thinking about all she is grateful for.

Life wasn’t always easy for her. Her most popular role was in 1970’s Love Story, which got her nominated for an Academy Award. After the film debuted, she was thrust into Hollywood’s limelight and while she said “it was a blessing,” she was also subjected to lots of criticism over the years.

Ali MacGraw has not acted in decades

This was partly due to her three failed marriages. In 1985, Ali decided to check herself into the Betty Ford clinic where she gave up alcohol and men for a year. She explained, “My stay there was the most terrifying and life-changing experience I’ve ever had. I began to feel an underlying peace and sense of order that I had yearned for forever.”

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In her later years, she decided to retire from acting and move to New Mexico. Ali added that moving there also helped heal her. She said, “I love it because there are grownup women — women who don’t strut around in the latest fashion and aren’t afraid to let their hair go gray.”

While Ali has not acted since the late ‘90s, she did reunite with her former Love Story co-star Ryan O’Neal back in 2016. They appeared for a touring production of Love Letters and she admitted that they still see each other over the years.

Ali concluded that when she does travel, she loves that she still has fans. She said, “I have the kindest fans. These are people that seem interested in some of the other experiences of my life that I’ve shared … I’m very grateful.”

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