Early life and career

McNichol was born in Los Angeles, California, and appeared with her brother, Jimmy, in commercials and later, on her own, in guest appearances on such other series as Starsky & Hutch, The Bionic Woman, Love American Style, and The Love Boat, thanks to family friend Desi Arnaz. Her first stint as a series regular came in the role of Patricia Apple in the short-lived CBS television series Apple's Way (1974).

In 1976, McNichol was cast as Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence in the television drama series Family (1976-80), for which she earned two Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series (1977 and 1979).

In 1977, McNichol appeared on The Carpenters at Christmas TV special, performing several musical numbers with the duo. In 1978, she and Jimmy made their own foray into music, recording the album Kristy & Jimmy McNichol for RCA Records. It included the single "He's So Fine" (a cover of The Chiffons' 1963 hit), which peaked at #70 on the Billboard chart. The McNichols promoted the album at New York's Studio 54 discothèque with other celebrities, such as Brooke Shields. In 1978, McNichol performed with Jimmy in a second Carpenters' holiday special, The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait.

McNichol was one of the biggest teen stars of that era. She appeared on talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show and Dinah!, and made several appearances on Battle of the Network Stars and other celebrity-based sports shows. In 1978, she starred in the acclaimed TV movie, Summer of My German Soldier.

McNichol began her film career in 1977, in Black Sunday, but her scenes were cut during editing. In 1978, she starred with Burt Reynolds in the comedy The End. In 1980, she played the leading role in the hit coming of age movie Little Darlings, which costarred Tatum O'Neal, Matt Dillon, and Cynthia Nixon. Her performance was acclaimed by many reviewers, including those who disliked the film itself. In 1980, she appeared with Dennis Quaid and Mark Hamill in The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, for which she received a six-figure salary—unprecedented for a teenager. The same year, she costarred in Neil Simon's Only When I Laugh, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1986, McNichol appeared in Women of Valor, a TV movie about American nurses in a World War II Japanese POW camp. In 1988, she made two theatrical films, You Can't Hurry Love and Two Moon Junction.

In the same year, McNichol played Barbara Weston on the NBC sitcom Empty Nest, a spin-off of The Golden Girls. She left the show in 1992 when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but returned for its final episode in 1995. It was her last on-screen performance, though she went on to voice characters in the animated TV series Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) and Invasion America (1998).

After acting life

In June 2001, McNichol announced that she has retired from acting. Her publicist released this statement:

"A lot of people have wondered what I've been up to. I retired from my career after 24 years. My feeling was that it was time to play my biggest part - myself! I must say that it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. So many fans are disappointed that I'm not currently acting; however, some may not realize that the process I'm in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness and well-being."

After her retirement, McNichol taught acting at a private school in Los Angeles and devoted much of her time to charity work. In 2012, she came out as a lesbian, in the hopes that her openness would help young people who are bullied because of their sexuality.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Black Sunday	Unknown	In scenes deleted during editing
1978	The End	Julie Lawson	Television movie
1978	Like Mom, Like Me	Jennifer Gruen	Television movie
1978	Summer of My German Soldier	Patty Bergen	Television movie
1979	My Old Man	Jo Butler	Television movie
1980	Little Darlings	Angel Bright	Her first theatrical film; leading role
1980	Blinded by the Light	Janet Bowers	Television movie
1981	Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, TheThe Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia	Amanda Child
1981	Only When I Laugh	Polly	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1982	White Dog	Julie Sawyer	Unreleased in the United States
1982	Pirate Movie, TheThe Pirate Movie	Mabel
1982	Aladdin and the Magic Lamp	The Princess	Voice
1984	Just the Way You Are	Susan Berlanger	Shooting interrupted for a year by McNichol's then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder
1985	Love, Mary	Mary Groda-Lewis	Television movie
1986	Dream Lover	Kathy Gardner
1986	Women of Valor	T.J. Nolan	Television movie
1988	You Can't Hurry Love	Rhonda
1988	Two Moon Junction	Patti Jean	Appeared topless
1989	The Forgotten One	Barbara Stupple	Her last theatrical performance (as of 2015)
1990	Children of the Bride	Mary	Television movie
1991	Baby of the Bride	Mary	Television movie
1993	Mother of the Bride	Mary	Television movie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Love, American Style	Steffi	Episode: "Love and the Unsteady Steady"
1974	Apple's Way	Rachel	Episode: "The Lamb"
1974-1975	Apple's Way	Patricia Apple	14 episodes
1975	ABC Afterschool Special	Jenna McPhail	Episode: "Fawn Story"
1976	ABC Afterschool Special	Nina Beckwith	Episode: "Me and Dad's New Wife"
1976	Starsky and Hutch	Meg	Episode: "The Hostages"
1976	Sara	Unknown	Episode: "Grandpa's Girl"
1976	Bionic Woman, TheThe Bionic Woman	Amanda Cory	Episode: "The Ghost Hunter"
1976	Starsky and Hutch	Molly Edwards	Episode: "Little Lost Girl"
1976-1980	Family	Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence	86 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1977	The Love Boat	Linda Morley	Pilot Episode
1977	Love Boat, TheThe Love Boat	Kelly	Episode: "Graham and Kelly"
1977	ABC Afterschool Special	Carlie Higgins	Episode: "The Pinballs"
1978	Starsky and Hutch	Joey Carston	Episode: "The Trap"
1988	Murder, She Wrote	Jill Morton	Episode: "Showdown in Saskatchewan"
1988-1995	Empty Nest	Barbara Weston	100 episodes; left due to bipolar disorder
1985-1992	Golden Girls, TheThe Golden Girls	Barbara Weston	2 episodes
1997	Extreme Ghostbusters	Girl in Sub (voice)	Episode: "Dry Spell"
1998	Invasion America	Sgt. Angela "Angie" Romar	13 episodes

Awards

Wins 1977 Emmy, for Family 1979 Emmy, for Family 1980 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Young Motion Picture Actress" 1982 Young Artist Award, for Only When I Laugh

Nominations 1978 Emmy, for Family 1979 Golden Globe, for Family 1980 Emmy, for Family Young Artist Award, for Family 1981 Young Artist Award, for My Old Man and Little Darlings 1982 Golden Globe, for Only When I Laugh

[ Source: Wikipedia ]