Kristy McNichol

Kristy McNichol is an American actress and former child star who won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, in 1977 and 1979, for playing teenage daughter Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence on Family (1976). She went on to star in Little Darlings (1980) alongside Tatum O'Neal, and earned a Golden Globe nomination for Only When I Laugh (1981), before headlining Empty Nest (1988). In January 2012, at 49, she came out as a lesbian through a publicist's statement to People, saying she wanted to help kids struggling with bullying and to "be open about who I am" as she approached 50; she had retired from acting in 2001 and lived privately with her partner of 20 years, Martie Allen. Her coming out was warmly received across entertainment media as a candid, low-key acknowledgment after decades of privacy.