Tatum O’Neal, an Oscar-winning actress and daughter of famous actor Ryan O’Neal was arrested on Sunday after police caught her buying cocaine on a NY city street corner. O’Neal in her adult life, has become as famous for her substance abuse problems as she has for her stellar acting skills, and sadly, this past weekend’s arrest shows the difficulty of overcoming addiction.

Back in the 90’s after her divorce to tennis star John McEnroe, Tatum’s drug problems became a public issue when McEnroe filed for custody of their three children when he discovered she was addicted to heroin and NOT taking appropriate care of their children. Tatum worked hard to recover from her addiction, and went on to write a book about her life, chronicling her abusive relationship with her father, being sexually abused by a family friend and growing up in the limelight.

Addiction seems to be a family curse, as Tatum’s mother Joanna Moore also battled drug and alcohol abuse and her half-brother Redmond (mother Farrah Fawcett) has made news for having debilitating substance abuse problem (check Glosslip’s coverage of that story here.)

Tatum in recent years has had an upsurge in her acting career, with a regular spot on the Dennis Leary show Rescue Me, and then appearing on the popular ABC’s reality show, Dancing With The Stars. Tatum could have easily had a lucrative and successful film career after her teen years (she won an Oscar for her role in Paper Moon, opposite her father, and was tremendous in Little Darlings) but instead took time off during her marriage to McEnroe, and then sadly, got back into drugs.

This recent arrest, which she claims “saved her life” came on the heels of a difficult time for her having lost her beloved pet. Here Tatum explains:

“There is no excuse for what I did, I lost my Scottish terrier Lena … that sort of set me off.”

Under normal circumstances, I would go into one of our usual tirades, condemning Tatum for a selfish and destructive act (she has children to think about) but knowing her family history and that she’s a recovering addict of many years does make her situation more sympathetic. She also gets credit for eventually coming to terms and admitting she had “no excuse,” but not before pulling out her ‘celeb get out of jail free card’ asking arresting officers “Do you know who I am” and then tried the whole “I was researching a role” excuse. Fortunately, the popo weren’t buying it.

Nowadays, it doesn’t matter WHO you are, in fact, it’s often a disadvantage to be a celeb and get caught doing something stupid. My advice, avoid doing stupid things. Tatum, you can afford counseling, please get help before you really hurt yourself.

Source: D