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Jennifer O'Neill

Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948) is an American actress and author.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the daughter of a Spanish-Irish businessman and his English wife. As a teenager, O'Neill worked as a fashion model and appeared in television commercials and on magazine covers. In 1968 she landed a small role in For the Love of Ivy. In 1970 she played one of the lead female roles in Rio Lobo starring John Wayne.

After her success in Summer of '42 in 1971, in which she plays the young widow of a soldier killed in the war, O'Neill became a well-known Hollywood actress, and continued acting for the next two decades, including singing in the Chrysler corporation commercial "change in Charger" that represented the death of the Dodge Charger in 1975. She also continued playing a grasping mistress in Luchino Visconti's final film, L'Innocente [1976]). She had more success in TV movies, including performances in Love's Savage Fury and in Bare Essence.

A self-described "romantic", O'Neill has been married and divorced nine times, and has a daughter by her first husband, and two sons from later marriages. A lifelong competitive rider, she has suffered serious back injuries due to falls, and on Oct 23, 1982 her name was in the news after she accidentally shot herself in the abdomen with a gun belonging to her then husband. The incident, which occurred at the Bedford (town), New York mansion she shared with her husband-manager, John Lederer. Local police ruled it an accident, and O'Neill said she was checking to see if the weapon was loaded.

Also in the mid-1980s, her television career was hit with tragedy. At the time, she played the leading female role on the CBS television series Cover Up. In 1984, Jon-Erik Hexum, the lead male actor, was killed on the studio playing with a blank (prop bullet in a gun). The series ended after just one season, with Antony Hamilton as the new male lead.

More recently, O'Neill has started to write, and has published From Fallen To Forgiven, a book of biographical notes and philosophical thoughts about life and existence.

The actress, who had an abortion at the age of nineteen has, in recent years, become a pro-life activist and speaks on abstinence to teens, and is now a Christian.

• Time Changer (2002)
• The Prince and the Surfer (1999)
• The Ride (1997)
• The Corporate Ladder (1997)
• Love Is Like That (1996)
• Discretion assured (1993)
• Committed (1988)
• I Love NY (1988)
• Scanners (1981)
• Cloud Dancer (1980)
• Steel (1980)
• A Force of One (1979)
• Caravans (1978)
• 7 Note in Nero (1977)
• Call Girl (1976)
• L'innocente (1976)
• Gente di rispetto (1975)
• The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975)
• Whiffs (1975)
• Lady Ice (1973)
• The Carey Treatment (1972)
• Glass Houses (1972)
• Such Good Friends (1971)
• Summer of '42 (1971)
• Rio Lobo (1970)
• Futz! (1969)
• For the Love of Ivy (1968)

• Jennifer O'Neill at the Internet Movie Database
• O'Neill Shares Pro-Life Message