At 84, Ali MacGraw Shows Off Natural Beauty At Lunch With Friends In Small Mountain Town She Settled In After Leaving Hollywood

Jun 21, 2023

When you think of iconic actresses from the 1970s, Ali MacGraw is likely to come to mind. Best known for her roles in films like "Goodbye, Columbus" and "Love Story," MacGraw is also a model and animal rights activist. MacGraw is an ambassador for the charity Animals Asia and has worked with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She was born Elizabeth Alice MacGraw in Pound Ridge, New York.

MacGraw won two Golden Globe awards throughout her career and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also received the honor of having her hands and feet memorialized in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. In 1972, she was voted the top female box-office star in the world. This gorgeous actress also had a budding career as a model and worked as a photographic assistant for six years. 

MacGraw had a difficult upbringing and later struggled with addiction to alcohol and other substances. However, through a lot of hard work, rehabilitation programs, and the support of her loved ones, she has been sober for years and is an inspiration to many souls still struggling today. MacGraw speaks openly about her experiences with addiction and helps break harmful stigmas surrounding mental health.

Many of us draw inspiration from celebrities. At 84 years old, MacGraw is the epitome of timeless beauty, and her life was anything but ordinary. From working at a high-end magazine as an editor to three marriages ending in divorce, here is a glimpse into the life of the former actress. She now spends her days living what seems like a beautiful life with newfound tranquility. Read on to learn more about MacGraw's life now and to see her stunning recent photos.

MacGraw was born on April 1, 1939 – on April Fool's Day. Her parents were artists, and she was en route to an art career of her own at Wellesley College. MacGraw's mother was Jewish. Her mother had kept her ancestry hidden from MacGraw's father, who was suspected to be anti-semitic.

MacGraw's father had a tough childhood. He grew up in an orphanage and ran away when he was just 16 years old. He studied art in Munich, Germany, and later moved to the United States. MacGraw claims he never really got over his parents abandoning him as a child. 

MacGraw recounted her childhood in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2010 and described her old family life as "horrible." Together with her brother and her parents, MacGraw lived in a doorless house on a Pound Ridge wilderness preserve with an elderly couple with whom they had to share the kitchen and bathroom. Her mother, Frances, supported them with commercial-art assignments, which made her father — "the real artist," according to her mother — feel emasculated as he never sold any of his paintings.

"On good days he was great, but on bad days he was horrendous," MacGraw recalled of her father. MacGraw would consciously try to be the mediator and peacemaker in her family and said she "put all (her) energy into trying to correct the chaos in their life."

She landed the coveted role of assistant editor at Harper's Bazaar after graduation, where she made $54 a week and went on to work as a photographer's assistant. It was during her stint as a photographer's assistant that she was headhunted to be a model herself after somebody at her work decided she was far too beautiful to be kept hidden behind the lens. 

Despite her humble beginnings, MacGraw was a hard worker and made a name for herself in both the fashion and film industries. MacGraw started fronting magazines and TV commercials worldwide, one of her more notable works being the beach girl in the Polaroid Swinger camera ads during the 1960s. One other popular commercial from that time was for International Paper. It featured the actress in a bikini made of confil swimming in the ocean to show off the product's durability.

Not long after, MacGraw burst into the film industry, starring in the 1969 movie "Goodbye, Columbus," her movie debut. Her work in the film earned her the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She went on to star in numerous other movies that became classics like "Love Story," "The Getaway," in which she starred opposite Steve McQueen, and the 1974 production of "The Great Gatsby."

According to an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, MacGraw struggled with confidence as an actress and often felt nervous on set.

"I was afraid every breathing minute of my film career," she told the interviewer.

Based on the accolades she received from her films, MacGraw's nerves did not get the best of her. 

Most of MacGraw's anxiety came from not having much experience acting outside of the commercials she did in her early career. "There was no time for acting school. I'm in awe of film actors who have trained but I also think that you have to live your life so you've got something to draw on," MacGraw said in the same interview.

MacGraw's first marriage was to Robin Hoen, a banker who studied at Harvard. The couple dated for five years prior to marrying in 1961, after MacGraw graduated from Wellesley College. Unfortunately, they were divorced only a year and a half later. 

However, MacGraw did not stop searching for love. In 1969, MacGraw married film producer Robert Evans, who was best known for his work on “Rosemary’s Baby" and "The Godfather."The two went on to have a son, Josh Evans. Josh also works in the entertainment industry as an actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. 

The couple divorced in 1972 after MacGraw's affair with McQueen while filming "The Getaway" became public. McQueen and MacGraw married in 1973 and had a tumultuous relationship. They later divorced in 1978. According to Vanity Fair, MacGraw did not receive "a dime's worth of settlement" from the divorce. 

MacGraw said of McQueen, "This was a man who could walk into any room and (any) man, woman and child would go, 'Whoa, what's that?' And I was no exception. He was incredibly attractive most of the time but there was also danger, there was a bad boy there." 

Her autobiography "Moving Pictures" detailed more of MacGraw's personal life, including her tumultuous relationship with McQueen. According to People, it was a very labor-intensive project as it took the actress close to two years to write the book. "I've worked harder on this than on anything," MacGraw revealed. "So much that I've done has been perceived as facile. This I want to be real."

"I wish we had both grown old sober. There were wonderful days and dreadful days. I'm not a victim in any way," MacGraw explained. "There were many times that were just wonderful and there were many times that were just ghastly."

One of the difficult parts of their relationship was the expectations that McQueen had for his wife, which did not involve a successful film career.

"I couldn't even go to art class because Steve expected his 'old lady' to be there every night with dinner on the table," MacGraw confessed to People in 1991. 

MacGraw ultimately took responsibility for her break from acting but said McQueen's wish was for her not to work while they were married. "I made choices. I fell in love too easily and I didn't do any homework. I was never trained as an actress, and that was my own stupidity," she said.

Looking back on her past relationships, MacGraw told the Sydney Morning Herald, "I would say that most of us start with a complicated childhood, everybody doing their best and screwing up – I'm a mother, I'm sure I've done it. And I think one has to look at it, walk through the fire, cry the tears, rage the rage. Those guys were 50 freaking years ago; I can't have them in my heart now." MacGraw has truly moved on from the past and focuses instead on a better future.

MacGraw underwent drug rehabilitation at the Betty Ford Center in 1986, which she described to be her salvation. "My stay there was the most terrifying and life-changing experience I've ever had," she said. 

MacGraw continued: "The single biggest thing that happened to me was my newfound certainty that there is a higher power. And I began to feel an underlying peace and sense of order that I had yearned for forever."

That sense of peace is noticeable in the way MacGraw spoke about her present life. "I don't want to sit in anger any more, pretending that everything is wonderful because I want people to like me, but seething underneath. But that takes work, and concentration to change. I couldn't have done it by myself. So the years go by. I am lucky, I am blessed and happy and doing the best I can," MacGraw told the Sydney Morning Herald.

MacGraw also spent her time raising her only son Josh, who ventured into the film industry as well. He started out with small roles in films such as “Born on the Fourth of July,” but soon found his calling behind the cameras instead. 

“I was not one of these kids who wanted to be an actor, it just came about. I was definitely going to be in film, but I didn’t know it would be to this extent,” he told Cryptic Rock. He added he soon discovered he was “more comfortable on the side of the camera that does not show myself,” and moved to directing, producing and more.

With his second wife, musician Roxy Saint, Josh also became a father to a son named Jackson in 2010, and made MacGraw a delighted grandmother in the process.

In an interview in 2017, MacGraw talked about how living "in a community that is small and with many causes that need help" fills her days as she no longer does acting work. She also devotes her time to volunteering for animal welfare causes.

However, she said she may have gotten a bit too devoted: "I have to restrain myself from bringing home any more strays." She has been living in her "little cottage" in Santa Fe, New Mexico, since the early 1990s.

"I came to Santa Fe, New Mexico, after my house (in Malibu) burned in one of those annual forest fires in California,” she told Rappler.

“For a year, I tried to find another little place near the beach (Malibu) that my animals would be safe in. I could breathe that beautiful fresh air but I couldn’t find it,” she added.

However, it all worked out after she “helped a friend design her house in Santa Fe, New Mexico," as she ended up buying "a tiny cottage (in Tesuque), which is where I still live in the mountains."

MacGraw has since settled well into her little nook away from the world and has absolutely no regrets about shunning the bright lights of Hollywood.

“I love my life. I travel a lot. Of course, this is all on hold with COVID but my home is only now in Santa Fe. ... I immediately got very involved with the community because it’s a very artistic community of many cultures. We have an amazing Native American culture. The Spanish culture that has been here for centuries is wonderful. There is more cultural stimulation for me than I’ve ever found anywhere except in a couple of big cities around the world. The air is clean,” she explained.

According to AARP, MacGraw's daily routine comprises tranquil activities that begin before sunrise. She is surrounded by her animals, often does pilates and yoga, and goes on a walk every day, which she described as her "meditation." She also dedicates "45 minutes of gratitude for all (she has) been given."

Despite being in her 80s, MacGraw stays busy with her activism.

"I will sign anything and speak about every environmental thing you can think of. I'm not capable of giving a ton of money but I'm a voice and I use it when I'm asked. In Santa Fe we have a fantastically animal-conscious community, and I'm psycho about animals," she said to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

MacGraw also appears to be busy thrilling restaurant owners with her presence. On June 14, 2023, the star was photographed sitting down for a meal with friends at the Casa Chimayo Restaurant and looked classy with her gray hair pulled back, statement earrings and a long-sleeved blue shirt. In a Facebook post, the restaurant’s owners described MacGraw as a “regular” who had “become a good friend” and said it was “honored” by her patronage.

Now that MacGraw is getting older, she is starting to think differently about life. "In November I started to wake up in the middle of the night thinking, 'Oh my god, I'm going to be 80. The rest of the trip is so short compared to the one behind me.' I'd never felt like that before." MacGraw is 84 now and still looks as healthy and glowing as ever before.

MacGraw came to terms with getting older and began to embrace the subject thanks to her friend and journalist, Gloria Steinem. MacGraw said emphatically in her interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, "I love Gloria Steinem's remark – she's my age, and a friend – when somebody said to her, 'Wow, Gloria, you look great for 40.' She said, 'This is what 40 looks like.' And I thought, 'This is what 80 looks like.'" 

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