Ali MacGraw Remembers Her 'Charming'Love StoryCostar Ryan O’Neal After His Death: 'I Shall Miss Him'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw.Photo:Paramount Pictures/Authenticated News/Courtesy of Getty; David Livingston/Getty

Paramount Pictures/Authenticated News/Courtesy of Getty; David Livingston/Getty

Ali MacGrawis remembering herLove StorycostarRyan O’Neal, whodied Friday at age 82.

She continued, “I know that a huge part of my success was due to his generosity as my co-star. It has been devastating to know just how ill Ryan has been for many years now, and I was not surprised to learn that he had passed away yesterday morning.”

MacGraw added that her “heart” went out O’Neal’s children and loved ones, before she reflected on her more recent experiences with the late actor.

MacGraw starred as working class Jenny Cavilleri opposite O’Neal’s preppy Oliver Barrett IV. The two university students came from different backgrounds, but fell in love and married. Jenny and Oliver were about to start a family when they learned that MacGraw’s character was dying of an undisclosed illness.

Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw in ‘Love Story’.Paramount/Getty

Paramount/Getty

The movie is responsible for millions of tears shed as well as the classic line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

In 2021, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film,the two actors reflected on their relationship and making the moviewith PEOPLE.

“We had absolutely nothing in common,” MacGraw told PEOPLE when asked about her chemistry with O’Neal. “He was a California kid, had been a movie star, was athletic."

Despite their differences, “We just clicked,” MacGraw, a relative newcomer, remembered. O’Neal agreed, saying, “It was magic.”

The script moved MacGraw, but she couldn’t predict how it would go on to become a cultural phenomenon. “I had no idea, up until the night we saw it,” she said, “and the whole audience was crying at the end.”

Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.Art SEITZ/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

Art SEITZ/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

One of MacGraw’s favorite scenes is when she and O’Neal played in the snow without any dialogue, she said.

“We were making snow angels and crazy stuff so that we’d loosen up and for somebody who doesn’t know what she’s doing, and that would be me, it’s a very big relief because you are not thinking, ‘Oh I forgot my line,’ ” she recalled.

When looking back on what madeLove Storya success, MacGraw credited O’Neal, as well as director Arthur Hiller and other crew members behind the scenes.

“They all knew what they were doing,” MacGraw told PEOPLE in 2021. “And so, because I’ve worked so long behind the camera and loved it, I have huge respect for that part of what makes a movie great. And all the pieces went together.”

“It feels so great to be reunited,” MacGraw said at the time. “Our chemistry has not changed. We still feel the same about each other.”

Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.LEE CELANO/AFP via Getty

LEE CELANO/AFP via Getty

O’Neal agreed, saying, “We are more than friends. She is like my sister, only she had better lock her door at night so I can’t get in there. We have some unfinished business, and we are running out of time!”

The late star said he believed fate brought them together to do the play: “Working together again is a dream come true,” he said. “Ali is an original. She is giving and sensitive to others, and we have never had an argument or cross word all of these years.”

source: people.com