Celebrity Nooz: Jennifer ONeill

Jennifer ONeill (Actress) - Summer of '42

Updated: 2/26/09

Name: Jennifer O'Neill

Born: February 20, 1948, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Claim To Fame: Her biggest and most recognized role was in 1971's Summer of '42, in which she plays the young widow of a soldier killed in World War II.

Family Life: O'Neill has been married and divorced nine times, and has a daughter by her first husband, and two sons from later marriages. She is currently married to Mervin Louque, and they live on a horse ranch in Nashville, TN.

Info: While still a student at the prestigious Dalton School in Manhattan, the beautiful O'Neill began international modeling, and was soon gracing the covers of magazines. From modeling, she decided to go into acting, and was accepted into the Neighborhood Playhouse, New York?s esteemed school of acting. She was quickly noticed by director Howard Hawks, who cast her to star opposite John Wayne in Rio Lobo. O'Neill was a leading actress, married and a mother by age twenty-one.

Next, she accepted the role that would make her a household name - that of Dorothy in the film Summer of '42. The film has become a classic, and O'Neill's performance has been hailed as legendary by the public and her peers alike. Encouraged by the success of the film, O'Neill relocated to Europe and began studying under the Italian director Luchino Visconti, where she turned in an award winning performance in his final film, The Innocent.

After returning home, O'Neill went on to star in several more films, including Blake Edward?s The Carey Treatment, with James Coburn, Caravans, with Anthony Quinn, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, with Michael Sarrazin, A Force of One, with Chuck Norris, Lady Ice, with Robert Duvall and Donald Sutherland, and the David Cronenberg blockbuster Scanners. She starred in the television Movie of the Week, Love's Savage Fury, which ended up being ABC's top-rated movie of the year.

O'Neill's performance in the CBS television movie, The Other Victim, led the way for her own series Cover-Up. She has also found great success with her spokeswoman campaign for CoverGirl. She endorsed the product for thirty years, and was instrumental in the product becoming the top selling makeup line in the country.

Trivia: Broke back and neck as youth when a horse she was riding fell on her.

Accidentally shot herself in the abdomen in 1983.

Father was Oscar O'Neill, a WWII bomber pilot who flew the B-17 and once had his plane shot down over Germany where he survived a prison camp.

Where Are They Now: Aside from her prosperous acting career, O'Neill is also involved with numerous charitable causes. She hosts a one hour special for World Vision on the HIV epidemic in Africa, and sponsors the Jennifer O?Neill Tennis Tournament to benefit the ASPCA, and fund-raiser for Guiding Eyes for the blind. As a strong pro-life advocate, O'Neill has appeared in commercials, billboards, and two documentaries to be released this year on the subject.

As if all of this weren't enough, O'Neill is also an accomplished author! She has written an autobiography, Surviving Myself, as well as From Fallen to Forgiven, and her fiction series - Circle of Friends: Just Off Main. Her most recent novels, All That Glitters and Life Savers are currently ready for publication and film production. To date, she successfully continues to train and show champion jumping horses and resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

Write To Jennifer O'Neill:
Jennifer O'Neill Ministries
1811 Beech Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203

Official Website: http://www.jenniferoneill.com/

View other 'Where Are They Now' celebrities

Read the latest issue of Celebrity Nooz

Subscribe!