She was a child star in the ’80s and has surprised everyone with her dramatic physical transformation at 62

It was in the 1980s that Kristy McNichol broke barriers in the entertainment industry. The young Los Angeles–born actress had been involved in acting since childhood, but it wasn’t until 1976—at just 14 years old—that she became a household name, bursting onto American television screens as Letitia “Buddy” Lawrence in the series Family.

Her role in the show, which aired for four seasons—and remained in the hearts of Americans for decades—earned her three consecutive nominations for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She took it a step further by being nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, also for Family. In other words, McNichol was an Emmy finalist for each of the four years Family aired—all while she was still a minor.

Her stardom extended through the ’80s and ’90s until 2001, when she chose to step away from acting. Since then, she’s made only a handful of public appearances—one of them just days ago in the California city where she grew up and made her name in the industry.

A viral return

A video that quickly went viral on TikTok, and was picked up by several U.S. content creators, shows McNichol warmly hugging singer Wendy Wilson at last weekend’s Hollywood Show pop culture convention in Los Angeles. Wearing a red T-shirt, McNichol surprised attendees with her vibrant and joyful presence. Despite celebrating her 62nd birthday this past September, she appeared youthful and cheerful.

McNichol has stayed out of the public eye since the early 2000s, only making one intentional appearance in 2012 when she publicly came out as gay. At the time, she said she felt “deeply sad about the bullying kids were going through” and wanted to support the LGBTQ+ community. After that, she returned to her private life, which, according to her then-publicist Jeff Ballard, was “healthy, happy, and very private.”

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