I recently had the opportunity to interview actress Jennifer O’Neill who plays Nelle Reagan in the film Reagan which is based on The American Spectator Editor-in-Chief Paul Kengor’s volume The Crusader: Reagan and the Fall of Communism.
[T]he multi-talented Jennifer O’Neill is still making a difference by lending her powerful voice to improve the lives of others.
Like many people, I first became acquainted with Jennifer O’Neill via the 1971 coming-of-age film Summer of ’42 where she plays Dorothy, the older woman with whom teenager Hermie (Gary Grimes) becomes infatuated. O’Neill’s portrayal of Dorothy is so memorable that it is hard to believe she is only on the screen for fifteen minutes. More than fifty years after the film’s release, Summer of ’42 remains the film for which she is most recognized.
The actress speaks of meeting women who described their husbands as being in love with the Dorothy character. However, in recent years the conversation has shifted to their sons being in love with her, demonstrating the film’s continuing popular cultural relevance.
O’Neill who made over thirty films was blackballed in Hollywood after she found her faith at age 37. During our interview, she talks about how faith transformed her personal and professional journey. She also discusses the regret that she experienced about having an abortion as a young woman and how that remorse served as a conduit for her becoming a voice for the pro-life movement.
O’Neill’s empathy has long tentacles. She is the founder of Hope and Healing at Hillengade, an organization that deploys equine-assisted therapy to help mitigate PTSD for veterans, active duty service members, and first responders. O’Neill is also the author of over twenty books.
We also discuss her involvement in Reagan, a project that was 18 years in the making. Apparently producer Mark Joseph first asked her about playing Nelle Reagan in 2004.
More than 50 years after she first graced the silver screen, the multi-talented Jennifer O’Neill is still making a difference by lending her powerful voice to improve the lives of others.
Watch the video here.
READ MORE from Leonora Cravotta:
Critics Be Damned: The Reagan Film Is Wonderful
The Road Well Traveled: Exploring the History of Literary Journeys