Ali MacGraw

Alice MacGraw (born April 1, 1938 in Pound Ridge, Westchester County, New York) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning American model and actress.

  • Biography
    Born to an Irish-American father, whom she recently described as "violent" (New York Magazine, April 3, 2006, pp. 69-70), and a Jewish mother, she has one sibling, a brother. An alumna of Wellesley College, she began working in 1960 as a photographic assistant at Harper's Bazaar, as an assistant to the legendary fashion maven, Diana Vreeland, at Vogue, and as a fashion model, and as a photographer's stylist. During this time, she was married to banker Robin Hoen. She gained notice in Goodbye, Columbus, but real stardom came in 1970 with Love Story, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. MacGraw's keen eye and sense of style was celebrated on the cover of Time. She has also worked as an interior decorator.

    On October 24, 1969, she married film producer Robert Evans; their son, Josh Evans, is an actor. They divorced in 1972 after she became involved with Steve McQueen on the set of The Getaway. They married on August 31, 1973 and divorced in 1978. MacGraw has appeared in other films, such as: Convoy, Players, Just Tell Me What You Want and the television miniseries China Rose and The Winds of War.

    MacGraw wrote a well-received autobiography, Moving Pictures (which she now states was "not well written"), which described her struggles with alcohol and male dependence. She was treated for the former at the Betty Ford Center. In 1991, People magazine chose her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. When her ex-husband, Robert Evans, received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame she accompanied him. She had lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico for many years after "fleeing Malibu". She made her Broadway theatre debut in New York City in 2006 as a dysfunctional matriarch in the drama Festen (The Celebration). She was also included in a Seventeen Magazine issue for inspiring hairstyles.

  • Moving Pictures (1992)
    In this candid, courageous autobiography, MacGraw discusses her artistic, emotionally cold parents, her schooling at Wellesley College and her stint as Diana Vreeland's "girl" at Harper's Bazaar . The focus, however, is on her struggle with addiction--alcoholism and "male dependency"--that grew as her acting career and personal life sputtered. A sudden star in her first major role, in Goodbye, Columbus in 1969, and the following year with the even more popular Love Story , she felt immediately that she was "in way over my head," mainly because of her fear of the camera ("I was scarcely trained at all as an actress"). Alcohol compounded problems and she continued to run after unavailable or hard-drinking or cold men. (Third husband Steve McQueen forbade MacGraw from working, yet convinced her to sign a prenuptual agreement that left her penniless after their divorce). In 1986, the actress spent a month at the Betty Ford clinic. Although she receives few film or TV job offers today, MacGraw is sober and "growing up at last." Photos not seen by PW. Literary Guild alternate; first serial to Cosmopolitan.

  • Yoga Mind & Body (1994)
    Clean white sand and a cool predawn sky are the backdrops for this stunningly produced video, complete with an upbeat New Age soundtrack. Don't be put off by the MTV-like camera work, as this video constitutes an excellent, well-balanced workout. Ali MacGraw and a supporting cast of something-for-everyone models work through this 50-minute routine, overseen by yoga master Erich Schiffman. The first minutes focus on ujjayi breathing, then MacGraw leads us through a complete practice of shoulder stretches, sun salutations, back bends and twists, and standing poses. No equipment is required, but a sticky mat is recommended. Unlike other videos targeted for beginners, Yoga Mind & Body does not offer modifications for difficult poses and so is best suited for practitioners with some previous experience.



    About the Author

    Ali MacGraw - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
    Moving Pictures - Amazon.com
    Yoga Mind & Body - Amazon.com
    Ali MacGraw / TIME Cover: January 11, 1971
    Filmography 1
    Filmography 2