Born Patrick Ryan O'Neal in Los Angeles. Ruggedly handsome, sandy-haired lead who appeared as Rodney Harrington, often opposite Mia Farrow, in over 500 episodes of TV's seminal soap opera, "Peyton Place" (1964-69) before boosting national handkerchief sales with his starring role in Erich Segal's soggy melodrama, LOVE STORY (1970). O'Neal is at his best in light comedies, often as an abstracted bumbler -- or, in the case of his most memorable role, an inept hustler (PAPER MOON, 1973). Other notable credits include WHAT'S UP, DOC? (1972), BARRY LYNDON (1975), NICKELODEON (1976), A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977), OLIVER'S STORY (1978), THE MAIN EVENT (1979), GREEN ICE (1981), PARTNERS (1982), IRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES (1984), TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE (1987), CHANCES ARE (1989), FAITHFUL (1996), HACKS (1997), ZERO EFFECT and AN ALAN SMITHEE FILM: BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN (both 1998), COMING SOON (1999), GENTLEMAN B and THE LIST (both 2000), PEOPLE I KNOW (2002), MALIBU'S MOST WANTED (2003), and WASTE LAND (2007). O'Neal also appears extensively on television. He is the son of screenwriter Charles O'Neal and actress Patricia Callaghan O'Neal and lived with actress Farrah Fawcett (1980-1997) (former wives are actresses Joanna Moore and Leigh Taylor-Young). O'Neal's brother Kevin and son Griffin are both actors, and daughter Tatum starred opposite her father in PAPER MOON.  Nominated for Actor 1970: LOVE STORY 1 nomination