Jennifer O'Neill
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948) is a Brazilian-born American author, model, and former actress. Born in Brazil, and moving to the United States as an infant, she first came to prominence as a teenaged
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...
, and for her spokesperson work for
CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...
cosmetics, which began in 1963 and spanned three decades. She made her feature-film debut in the comedy film '' For Love of Ivy'' (1968), followed by a lead role in
Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...
's Western film ''
Rio Lobo ''Rio Lobo'' is a 1970 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, from a screenplay by Burton Wohl and Leigh Brackett. The film was shot in Cuernavaca in the Mexican state of Morelos and in Tucson, Ari ...
'' (1970). O'Neill's breakthrough role came in
Robert Mulligan Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his sensitive dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), '' Summer of '42'' (1971), '' The Other'' (1972), '' Sam ...
's period drama '' Summer of '42'' (1971), in which she portrayed the wife of an army serviceman during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, who becomes the subject of a teenaged boy's romantic attraction. The same year, she starred in
Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...
's '' Such Good Friends''. In the mid-1970s, O'Neill appeared in several Italian films, including
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...
's final feature, '' The Innocent'' (1976), and
Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including Commedia all'italiana, comedies and spagh ...
's ''
giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...
'' horror film '' The Psychic'' (1977). She later starred in
David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...
's cult horror film ''
Scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telep ...
'' (1981), and in the short-lived television series ''
Cover Up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...
'' (1984–1985). In 1988, O'Neill became a
born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
, and inspired by her feelings of regret over having an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
at age 22, became active in the
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...
movement. She has since authored several books, including a memoir, ''Surviving Myself'' (1999), in which she detailed her career, marriages, experiences with anxiety and
postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called perinatal depression, is a mood disorder which may be experienced by pregnant or postpartum women. Symptoms include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and extreme cha ...
, and her religious faith. O'Neill founded the Hope and Healing at Hillenglade Foundation in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, an
equine-assisted therapy Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) encompasses a range of treatments that involve activities with horses and other equines to promote human physical and mental health. Modern use of horses for mental health treatment dates to the 1990s. Systematic r ...
foundation that specializes in treating war veterans suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
. Since the 1990s, O'Neill has occasionally appeared in film and television, including roles in the independent film '' Doonby'' (2013) and the Rachel Scott biopic '' I'm Not Ashamed'' (2016).


Early life

O'Neill was born on February 20, 1948, in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, Brazil, to Irene Freda (née Pope), a native of
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and Oscar Delgado O'Neill, a Brazilian of Portuguese, Spanish, and Irish ancestry. O'Neill's father, born in Puerto Rico, was a bomber pilot in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and later owned a medical supply company. Her paternal great-grandfather, Oscar O'Neill Sr., was the president of the Bank of Rio de Janeiro. O'Neill's mother, one of seven children, was raised in a "poor but close-knit family." When she was an infant, she relocated with her family to the United States, where she and her older brother Michael were raised in
New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
, and
Wilton, Connecticut Wilton is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,503. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Wester ...
. O'Neill began riding horses at age 9, and became an accomplished equestrienne, winning upwards of 200 ribbons at horse show competitions in her teens. At age 14, after her parents informed her the family was relocating to New York City, O'Neill attempted
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
by overdosing on
sleeping pills A hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), also known as a somnifacient or soporific, and commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep and to treat insomnia (sleeplessness). Th ...
, and fell into a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
for about two weeks. Reflecting on this, she said: "I didn’t want to die, I just wanted to be heard. It was just a rebellion against my parents’ decisions. What seems like a bump in the road as we get older, to a teenager can seem catastrophic...  ur moving meantlosing my ability to take care of a horse that I was able to ride. They wouldn't let me take our dog and took her to the pound." In a later interview, O'Neill said she lacked adequate role models as a child, and described her parents as "completely involved with themselves."


Career


1963–1971: Modeling and breakthrough

After her family's relocation to New York City, two of O'Neill's neighbors suggested that she model: "That appealed to me, because then I could buy my own horse and no one could take anything away from me again. So I strolled into
Eileen Ford Eileen Cecile Ford (née Otte; March 25, 1922 – July 9, 2014) was an American modeling agency executive. Along with her husband Gerard W. Ford, Gerard "Jerry" Ford, she co-founded Ford Models in 1946, which emerged as one of the earliest and m ...
’s agency, and she signed me on the spot." By age 15, while attending the prestigious
Dalton School The Dalton School, originally the Children's University School, is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in New York City and a member of both the Ivy Preparatory School League and the New York Interschool. The school is located in ...
in Manhattan, she began appearing on the covers of ''Vogue'', ''Cosmopolitan'', and ''Seventeen'', earning $80,000 ($ today) in 1962. Commenting on O'Neill in 1965,
Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was an American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at '' Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the Costume ...
said: "O'Neill is a dream. She has great distinction." O'Neill largely used her modeling income to fund her equestrian endeavors, which afforded her to purchase her own horse, named Alezon. When O'Neill was 15 years old, though, the horse balked before a wall at a horse show, throwing her, causing her to fracture her neck and lower spine in three places. The injury resulted in her suffering lifelong back pain. O'Neill eventually dropped out of the Dalton School at age 17 to wed her first husband, IBM executive Deed Rossiter. In 1963, O'Neill signed a contract with
CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...
cosmetics, marking the beginning of a 30-year career as a spokesperson for the company. O'Neill is listed in the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
's
National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
's Center for Advertising History for her long-standing contract with CoverGirl cosmetics as its model and spokesperson in ads and television commercials.Cover Girl Advertising Oral History & Documentation Project, 1959–1990, Archives Center,
National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
,
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
.
In 1968, O'Neill landed a small role in the comedy film '' For Love of Ivy''. In 1970, she played her first lead role in the
Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...
film ''
Rio Lobo ''Rio Lobo'' is a 1970 American Western film directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, from a screenplay by Burton Wohl and Leigh Brackett. The film was shot in Cuernavaca in the Mexican state of Morelos and in Tucson, Ari ...
'' co-starring
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
. She had a supporting role in
Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...
's '' Such Good Friends'' (1971) starring Dyan Cannon and
Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in ''1776'' (1972) and as high school basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the televisi ...
. In the 1971 film '' Summer of '42'', O'Neill played Dorothy Walker, the early-20s wife of an airman who has gone off to fight in World War II. She stated in a 2002 interview that her agent had to fight to even get a reading for the part, since the role had been cast for an "older woman" to a "coming of age" 15-year-old boy, and the director was only considering actresses over the age of 30. The film was a box-office success and went on to attract a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
.


1972–1979: Italian films

In 1972, she co-starred with Tom Jones in David Winters's television special '' The Special London Bridge Special''. The same year, she starred in the crime thriller '' The Carey Treatment'' (1972), and the drama '' Glass Houses'', the latter of which was filmed in 1970. This was followed by a lead role in '' Lady Ice'' (1973) opposite
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...
and
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...
. O'Neill next had a leading role in the psychological horror film '' The Reincarnation of Peter Proud'' (1975), co-starring with Michael Sarrazin and
Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassed List of Margot Kidder performances, several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her bes ...
, and directed by J. Lee Thompson. The same year, she appeared opposite
Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. Gould's breakthrough role was in the film ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The ...
in the
Ted Post Theodore Ian Post (March 31, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an American director of film and television. Highly prolific, Post directed numerous episodes of well-known television series including '' Rawhide'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''The Twilight Zo ...
-directed comedy ''
Whiffs ''Whiffs'' is a 1975 comedy film directed by Ted Post and starring Elliott Gould, Eddie Albert, Harry Guardino, Godfrey Cambridge, and Jennifer O'Neill. It was produced by Brut Productions and released theatrically in the U.S. by 20th Century Fox. ...
''. By the mid-1970s, O'Neill had forged a career in Italy, first starring in
Luigi Zampa Luigi Zampa (2 January 1905 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film director. Biography Son of a worker, Zampa studied filmmaking from 1932 to 1937 at the Italian film school in Rome. He directed several Italian neorealism films in the 1940 ...
's drama ''
The Flower in His Mouth ''The Flower in His Mouth'' () is a 1975 Italian drama film directed by Luigi Zampa and starring Franco Nero, Jennifer O'Neill and James Mason. Plot Teacher Elena Bardi transfers herself from Sondrio in a Sicilian town, where she is harassed ...
'' (1975) opposite
James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...
, which was shot on location in Sicily. The following year, she starred in
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...
's final directorial feature, '' The Innocent'', and subsequently starred in
Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including Commedia all'italiana, comedies and spagh ...
's '' The Psychic'' (1977), portraying a clairvoyant whose visions lead to the discovery of a murder. She was originally cast in the
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
film '' The Black Hole'' (1979), but was told she needed to cut her hair because it would be easier to film the zero-G scenes. She gave in, drinking wine during the haircut and leaving noticeably impaired. She lost the part after a serious car crash on the way home. O'Neill was instead cast in the action martial arts film '' A Force of One'' (1979), co-starring with
Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...
.


1980–1990: Subsequent film and television

O'Neill starred opposite
David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage. He was widely known ...
in the aviation-themed drama '' Cloud Dancer'' (1980), followed by a lead role in
David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...
's science-fiction horror film ''
Scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telep ...
'' (1981), portraying a woman who leads an oppositional group against a malevolent private military company creating biokinetic and psychokinetic humans. When her movie career slowed, O'Neill took roles in series television. She starred in
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's short-lived 1982 primetime soap opera '' Bare Essence'' and played the lead female role on the 1984 television series ''
Cover Up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...
''. On October 12, 1984,
Jon-Erik Hexum Jon-Erik Hexum (; November 5, 1957 – October 18, 1984) was an American actor and model, known for his lead roles in the TV series '' Voyagers!'' and '' Cover Up'', and his supporting role as Pat Trammell in the biopic '' The Bear''. He died by ...
, O'Neill's co-star in the ''Cover Up'' television series, mortally wounded himself on the show's set, unaware that a gun loaded with a blank cartridge could still cause extreme damage from the effect of expanding powder gases. He died six days later. O'Neill continued to appear in film and television throughout the late 1980s, including in the drama film '' I Love N.Y.'' (1987) and in the Perry Mason television film ''Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star'' (1986).


1991–present: Later work

In 1991, O'Neill starred in the thriller film '' Committed'', portraying a nurse who discovers the fellow staff at the psychiatric hospital where she has been hired are in fact inmates. She later starred opposite
James Brolin Craig Kenneth Bruderlin (born July 18, 1940), known professionally as James Brolin, is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes and an Emmy Awards, Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August ...
in '' The Visual Bible: Acts'' (1994), which depicts the
Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...
in the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
.


Personal life

O'Neill has been married nine times to eight men (remarrying her sixth husband), and had three children, one each with three of her husbands. After the birth of her first child, Aimee, O'Neill experienced undiagnosed
postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called perinatal depression, is a mood disorder which may be experienced by pregnant or postpartum women. Symptoms include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and extreme cha ...
and committed herself to a psychiatric hospital for treatment, which included
electroshock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequate. Condit ...
. She was briefly married to
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
award-winning television producer and choreographer Nick De Noia from 1975 to 1976. De Noia, who also served as O'Neill's manager at the time of their marriage, was a
closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
. In 1987, de Noia was murdered by one of his former associates. O'Neill told journalists that she was "very upset" by the news of his death. O'Neill's fifth husband, John Lederer, sexually abused her first daughter, Aimee. O'Neill initially disbelieved the accusation after Lederer passed several lie detector tests, and the abuse allegation strained her relationship with her daughter. Reflecting on the abuse in 2019, O'Neill said: "My daughter and I are very close today, but we were in court for a year and I didn't know whom to believe. He passed lie detector tests, so it tore my relationship with her apart. He remarried and did the same thing to his next teenaged stepchild. He was just a masterful liar. When I understood how much she needed me to recognize that she was telling the truth, and she recognized that I didn't have a clue. She was integral in helping bring him to justice. She was so brave, she put a wire on and got him to admit what he'd done." On October 23, 1982, O'Neill suffered a gunshot wound in her home on McClain Street in Bedford, New York. Police officers who interviewed O'Neill determined that she had accidentally shot herself in the abdomen with a .38 caliber revolver at her 30-acre, 25-room French-style estate while trying to determine if the weapon was loaded. Her husband at the time, John Lederer, was not in the house when the handgun was discharged, but two other people were in the house. Detective Sgt. Thomas Rothwell was quoted as having said that O'Neill "didn't know much about guns.""Actress claims shooting was accident", ''Minden Press-Herald'', October 26, 1982, p. 1 Reflecting on the incident, O'Neill said: In 1988, O'Neill became a
born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
. Commenting on her faith, she said: "I don't want to preach to anybody; I only want to say what happened to me.' In her 1999 autobiography ''Surviving Myself'', O'Neill describes many of her life experiences, including her marriages, career, and her move to her Tennessee farm in the late 1990s. She has said that she wrote the autobiography (her first book) "... at the prompting of her children." O'Neill has dual citizenship, being a Brazilian and U.S. citizen.


Activism

In 2004, O'Neill wrote and published ''From Fallen to Forgiven'', a book of biographical notes and thoughts about life and existence. O'Neill recounted how she underwent an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
at age 22 in 1970 while dating a Wall Street socialite after the divorce from her first husband. Her regrets over the experience contributed to her becoming a Pro-Life activist and a
born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...
in 1986 at age 38. She also began counseling
abstinence Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol (drug), ...
to teens. Concerning her abortion, she writes: O'Neill continues to be active as a writer, working on her second autobiography, ''CoverStory'', an inspirational speaker, and fundraiser for the benefit of crisis pregnancy centers across the United States. She has also served as the spokesperson for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, an organization for people who regret that they or their partners had abortions. She also founded Hope and Healing at Hillenglade, an
equine-assisted therapy Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) encompasses a range of treatments that involve activities with horses and other equines to promote human physical and mental health. Modern use of horses for mental health treatment dates to the 1990s. Systematic r ...
foundation in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, that serves war veterans suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Bibliography

*''Surviving Myself,'' New York: William Morrow and Company, 1999. *''From Fallen to Forgiven,'' Thomas Nelson, 2002. *''You're Not Alone: Healing Through God's Grace After Abortion.'' Faith Communications, 2005. *''Remarkable Women,'' Insight Publishing Group, 2005. *''A Fall Together,'' B&H Publishing Group, 2006. *''A Winter of Wonders,'' B&H Publishing Group, 2007. *''A Late Spring Frost,'' B&H Publishing Group, 2007 *''Faith Lessons,'' Insight Publishing Group, 2008.


References


Sources

* * * *


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Jennifer 1948 births Living people Actresses from Rio de Janeiro (city) Actresses from New Rochelle, New York Activists from New Rochelle, New York American anti-abortion activists American Christians American female equestrians American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Portuguese descent American people of Spanish descent Brazilian emigrants to the United States Brazilian female models Brazilian people of English descent Brazilian people of Irish descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian people of Spanish descent Dalton School alumni Female models from New York (state) Models from Rio de Janeiro (city) People with mood disorders 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American sportswomen