Biography: Jennifer O'Neill was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 20, 1948. Her father was of Irish-Spanish descent, and her mother English. Whereas Elvis was riding high on the fame of his hit record "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1956, when she was 9 years old in 1957, schoolmates humiliated her over a pair of pink suede shoes. Things got worse when her parents refused to buy her a horse (she has always l ... show all Jennifer O'Neill was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 20, 1948. Her father was of Irish-Spanish descent, and her mother English. Whereas Elvis was riding high on the fame of his hit record "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1956, when she was 9 years old in 1957, schoolmates humiliated her over a pair of pink suede shoes. Things got worse when her parents refused to buy her a horse (she has always loved horses), and got her a cat instead. At 14, she attempted suicide; her parents only saw this as an attempt for attention. Jennifer continued to ride horses every chance she could; however, at 15, she broke her back and neck in 3 places when a horse she was riding fell on her. There would be no more horseback riding when her family moved from Connecticut to New York City soon after; she started her highly-successful modeling career there, she was only 15. She was a student at Dalton School in Manhattan, and she got into New York's Neighborhood Playhouse for aspiring actors. She married her first husband at 17, had a daughter, Aimee. Shortly after, she checked herself into a mental hospital for treatment for stress. Her first film was "For Love of Ivy (1968)". Whereas it was a small start, she did attract the interest of director Howard Hawks, who cast her to star opposite John Wayne in "Rio Lobo (1970)". Jennifer got her first divorce, and got married again, this time to a student of Eastern philosophy. Even though her agent advised against it, she took the main role in the surprise sleeper "Summer of '42 (1971)". This movie gave her national recognition; unfortunately, she'd never have such a great role or film again. She continued to appear in profitable, though less critically acclaimed movies, from "Lady Ice (1973)" through "Scanners (1981)"; (in 1976, she was briefly in Europe, working with Italian director Luchino Visconti, and gave an award-winning performance in his last film "L'innocente (1976)"). However, she is most remembered for her decades-long "Cover Girl" campaign - in an industry where some models are "over the hill" at age 25, she had a 30 year run with this makeup product. Jennifer has had her ups and downs; successes and failures; marriages and divorces. (And tragedies; she was divorced from Nick De Noia, the original choreographer for the Chippendale dancers, who was shot to death with a large calibre handgun in April 1987.) Husband #5 gave her a son, Reis; however, he also went through all her money. She amassed money again, and had a 2nd son, Cooper, with husband #6, Mervin Louque, who was unfaithful. She divorced him, and married husband #7, then remarried Mervin Louque (her 8th husband, 9th marriage). Despite personal tragedies, Jennifer is a loving and giving person - she has served as chairperson for the American Cancer Society, and worked for other charitable causes, such as the March of Dimes, the Retinitis Pigmetosa Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation. She wrote her autobiography "Surviving Myself". Jennifer and her husband live on a horse ranch in Nashville, TN, where she can at last ride horses to her heart's content. A born again Christian, she has found happiness in her faith. hide |
