Surprising Facts You Didn’t Know About These Iconic ’70s Stars

Ali MacGraw’s carefully managed image collapsed in real time during The Getaway. While filming opposite Steve McQueen in 1972, she left her marriage to Ryan O’Neal, detonating her status as Hollywood’s romantic ideal almost overnight.

The affair was public, volatile, and impossible to spin. MacGraw’s career momentum stalled as studios grew wary of scandal and McQueen’s controlling behavior followed her off set. What had looked like a fairy-tale rise abruptly shifted, showing how quickly ’70s stardom could curdle when personal chaos outpaced box-office goodwill.