Ryan O'Neal Posed with His Daughter Tatum O'Neal to Mark 82nd Birthday 7 Months Prior to His Death
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The actress shared her last Instagram photo with her father in April
Tatum O'Neal shared a rare photo with her father, Ryan O'Neal, on Instagram in April. It was the last photo of the two she shared publicly before his death on Friday.
Ryan's son Patrick O'Neal announced his father's death on Instagram. He "passed away peacefully," Patrick wrote of his father, adding that he was a "Hollywood legend. Full stop."
On April 21, the actress shared a heartwarming Instagram picture alongside Ryan, who celebrated his 82nd birthday the previous day.
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"Happy birthday dad I love you," wrote the 59-year-old Academy Award winner in the post's caption.
In the photo, the father-daughter duo is seen posing next to each with big smiles as Tatum holds on to an adorable dog. Fans celebrated the actor's new year of life by leaving comments like, "I ❤️ this. Happy birthday to your Dad!" Another wrote, "Happy birthday, sir! You look great!"
Fans also took joy in seeing a portrait of Farrah Fawcett done by Andy Warhol in the background.
"So cute to see your Dad with a picture of Farrah over his bed ❤️," noted one fan in the comment section. Another expressed, "Beautiful pic of you two, and the Andy Warhol of FF."
While never married, Ryan and Fawcett developed a romantic relationship after meeting in 1979 on the set of The Six Million Dollar Man and had a son named Redmond O'Neal in 1985. They split in 1997 and reunited in 2001 after he was diagnosed with leukemia, and Fawcett took care of him as he went into remission.
After Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, at age 62, of anal cancer, Ryan reunited with Tatum for the first time in years after a bitter estrangement.
Their fractured relationship dates back to when they starred together in 1973's Paper Moon, which made Tatum the youngest person to win an Academy Award at just 10 years old.
Tatum, whose mother was actress Joanna Moore, was battling drug addiction in her teen years. By the time she was 16, O'Neal was dating Fawcett.
"I feel very lucky that I survived. I've fallen down along the way, but I've always gotten up," Tatum told PEOPLE about their relationship and added that Fawcett's death played "a very big role" in their reconciliation.
"She brought us back together," she added. "He told me he's sorry. He's all I have in terms of family, and I needed him in my life. My dad was absolutely everything to me." Tatum also spoke out about their relationship in her autobiography, A Paper Life.
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In 2020, her son, Sean McEnroe, shared a glimpse of the family in a photo posted on Instagram that included his siblings, Kevin and Emily. Tatum shares the three children with her ex-husband, tennis icon John McEnroe.
"This is one of the most memorable photos of my life," wrote McEnroe. "The last time we were all together was at the 30-year Paper Moon Anniversary in 2003. I could cry tears of gratitude that everyone in this photo is still alive and that we were all able to come together again after so many years of hardship. The entire West Coast is burning, but if the O'Neals can reconcile, truly anything is possible."
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