Bombshell Faye Dunaway Stuns Today At 82

Aug 17, 2023

Faye Dunaway remains an icon to date. She was the star of many movies that shaped popular culture, and her legendary acting prowess remains indisputable. Dunaway was born to a soldier dad, and a mom who was a housewife and had to shelve her dreams because she lacked resources. Dunaway's parents had a strained marriage, which made the homefront uncomfortable for her, so she often immersed herself in fictional worlds to escape. This set the tone for her career because the first time she was on the stage for a school performance, the audience loved her and thought she had found her place. Dunaway was just five at the time. 

As the "Chinatown" actress loathed the idea of being a housewife, she broke up with her childhood sweetheart and got a degree in theater instead. 

"I didn't want to marry and be consigned to a world where he made the money and my role was wife," she told Marie Claire.

The iconic actress became a Hollywood sensation when she starred as Bonnie in the legendary film, "Bonnie And Clyde." She got her first Oscar nomination for the movie and became a fashion icon for girls who wore Bonnie-inspired berets.

Despite being referred to as a beautiful actress at the time, Dunaway didn't think she was attractive. 

"Just to see the face, to see that it's too round – but it was more than that," she told People. "I didn't think my face was beautiful. I guess I found a lot wrong with it. 

However, Dunaway has aged gracefully and still looks refined even in her 80s. She doesn't seem ready to slow down anytime soon, either. Keep reading to know what she is up to now.  

Dunaway played roles that pushed her as an independent, tough, difficult, and invulnerable actress. Her unlikeable character, Joan Crawford, in the renowned film, "Mommie Dearest," which she regrets doing, further stoked these assumptions and negatively impacted her career. 

The "Network" actress told Harper's Bazaar about the roles she played:

"They led to an image of me as being not vulnerable, not real, not a feeling, caring woman. It's hard for me to find real roles that have a kindness and a softness, because people associate me so much with these overly strong women."

However, testimonies from co-stars about the actress were not too far from this either. 

While she was alive, the late actress, Bette Davis, was vocal about Dunaway's unprofessional habits. In 1988, Johnny Carson asked the late icon, "Who's one of the worst people you know in Hollywood?" 

Davis quickly answered: 

"Faye Dunaway and everybody you can put in this chair would tell you exactly the same thing. I don't think we have the time to go into all the reasons–she's just uncooperative. Miss Dunaway is for Miss Dunaway."

Sources also told New York Post that producers of "Tea at Five" terminated their contract with Dunaway because she created a "hostile" and "dangerous" environment backstage that left production members "fearing for their safety." Dunaway was fired just a few moments before the Broadway production was supposed to begin. 

Furthermore, director Roman Polanski, who directed "Chinatown," accused her of being "difficult," per Marie Claire.

However, Dunaway feels differently about these claims. 

"So print this, will you? I'm looking for roles where I can still be strong but that are also softer and gentler and reflect to a greater degree who I actually am," she told Harper's Bazaar during an interview.

Dunaway's beauty and refinement still shine through even in her old age. A few of her male co-stars and other men also found themselves greatly attracted to the legend. 

However, Dunaway had a rule not to date a co-star.

"You just don't," she said. "I have a rule: You know it's going to ruin the performance and ruin the movie, so you don't do that."

And it wasn't for lack of hot men that the award-winning actress didn't venture on that path as she co-starred with many sex symbols of her time, including Paul Newman, Anthony Quinn, Robert Redford, Kirk Douglas, Jack Nicholson, and Warren Beatty. 

Nevertheless, she ignored her own rule with one person, Marcello Mastroianni. The two co-starred as lovers in "A Place for Lovers" and had a real-life affair for three years until Dunaway broke it off because she wanted children, and the Italian actor wasn't ready to leave his wife for her. 

The Florida native then married Peter Wolf in 1974 but grew tired and divorced him in 1979. However, she already started having an affair with photographer Terry O'Neill toward the end of her marriage. The duo met after he took one of her most iconic photographs.

Dunaway and O'Neill welcomed a son named Liam in 1980, and speculation abounded for a long time that he was adopted. Although the actress denied it multiple times, the rumor never disappeared. In 2003, O'Neill confirmed that Liam was indeed adopted.

Dunaway continues to act today and is currently single. However, she is open to dating again.

"I'm very much a loner," she told People. "I'd like to have a partner in my life and I would if I could find the right person, I think, but I don't know who that might be right now."

What do you think of Dunaway's rule to not date her co-stars? Did you watch "Mommie Dearest?" What do you think of her performance in it? Which of her movies is your favorite? Let us know — and pass this on to fans of Faye Dunaway!