Ali MacGraw on finding inner peace after heartbreak and early showbiz fame.
It wasn’t until Ali MacGraw left showbiz that she truly fell in love with her life. The transition came as a total surprise to the actress, who traded the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for the dust and dry heat of Santa Fe, N.M., 24 years ago. “When I first came here I knew one person,” says Ali, 78, who shot to fame as the star of 1970’s tearjerker romance Love Story. But she soon found that “Santa Fe served me beautifully. I love stillness. I love nature.” She doesn’t regret her years spent living in Los Angeles, she says, “but here I discovered that everybody seemed to be starting a new life. It was miraculous. Now I feel like a whole person, whereas before I was this not-very-good-at-what-I-did-but-got-famous-for-whatever woman. I know who I am now.” And after three failed marriages — to college sweetheart Robin Hoen, film exec Robert
Evans and actor Steve McQueen — she’s content to stay single for the rest of her days. Marvels Ali, “I can’t think of anything more unpleasant [than dating]. I’d rather get another dog!”