• Martie Allen is the multi-talented partner of Kristy McNichol and a former television personality.
• Martie Allen and Kristy McNichol met in the early 90's, and Kristy publicly came out as gay in 201•
• Kristy McNichol retired from acting in 2001, and has since enjoyed travelling and yoga with Martie.
• Both Martie and Kristy share a fortune estimated at over $7 million.
• Kristy McNichol's net worth is estimated at around $4 million, accumulated from her acting career and teaching.
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Who is Martie Allen?
Martie Allen is multi-talented Kristy McNichol‘s partner, and a former television personality. Keep reading to learn about her early life, relationship, and more.
Martie Allen’s Early Life
Martie Allen was born on 1th January 1960, place unknown but in the USA. Allen is very secretive about her early years, and little can be found out about her; she has no social media presence either. We know that she met Kristy McNichol sometime in the early ‘90s.
Martie Allen & Kristy McNichol
In 2012, Kristy McNichol finally came out and admitted that she had been with Martie Allen for two decades, sharing a photo of the couple to People magazine.
After years of speculation, the former child star came out in the hopes of stopping children from being the targets of homophobic bullying. She also said that as she was approaching 50, she wanted to ‘be open about who she was’. Her publicist, Jeff Ballard, encouraged her to make the decision.
In the early 2010s, homophobic bullying and the suicides of gay and lesbian teens became a widespread social issue in the US, and McNichol was praised for her decision to come out and show solidarity to these victims. The news was widely reported in newspapers, magazines, and other outlets across the board, and became a topic of conversation.
It’s also possible but not confirmed that she didn’t come out much earlier in case it impacted her acting career.
Homophobia in Hollywood is still being discussed by many to this day. Actor Rupert Everett recently gave an interview about his experiences; when he came out as gay in 1989, he stopped receiving offers, and in 2019 he advised young actors against coming out due to the negative effect it could have on their careers. In 2016, Sir Ian McKellan also blasted the fact that an openly gay actor had never won one of the main prizes at the Academy Awards, and admitted his disappointment at not being able to break the cycle. In 2018 Garrett Clayton also spoke on the issue, and said he felt pressured not to come out of the closet, and was often told to change the way he spoke or behaved in public.
Although we don’t exactly know when Allen and McNichol met, 1992 is the year when Kristy McNichol was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At the time, she was playing the role of Barbara Weston in “Empty Nest”, a spin-off of “The Golden Girls”. The popular former actress had to leave the show, as she was finding it hard to come to terms with her disorder, but returned in 1995 for a couple of episodes. We can assume that Allen supported her during this challenging period of time.
McNichol has been open about her bipolar disorder since then, and hinted that some of the factors were her early stardom and the lack of a proper childhood.
McNichol’s mother never got to live out her acting dreams, and so pushed her two oldest children into the profession, leading to McNichol landing her first Kraft commercial at eight years of age. She is quoted as saying: “My mother always wanted to be an actress. She was an extra in movies and stuff. I have a feeling this is the classic story: The mother wants to be an actress, and the child ends up doing it.”
Nine years after being diagnosed, McNichol announced in June 2001 that she had retired from acting. Her publicist released a statement on her behalf in which McNichol stated that: “…some may not realize that the process I’m in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness and well-being”.
It’s interesting to note that actress Elisabeth Brooks, McNichol’s ex-girlfriend, passed away in September 1997, days before the latter’s 35th birthday. It’s been rumored that McNichol was with Brooks until she died, which means that she would have been cheating on Allen, unless their relationship was an open one. We don’t exactly know when Brooks and McNichol were together, but the pair coincided in 1989 film “The Forgotten One” in which McNichol played the main role. The cause of Brooks’ death was brain cancer, and she died in a Palm Springs hospice following an 18-month battle with the disease.
After McNichol retired from acting, she taught acting at a private school in Los Angeles, and devoted herself to charity work. Today, she enjoys travelling and yoga with Allen.
Martie Allen’s Net Worth
As of early 2021, Martie Allen’s net worth is conservatively estimated by sources at over $500,000, However, the general consensus is that she shares Kristy McNichol’s estimated fortune of over $7 million, given their close association over more than two decades.
The former actress made her acting debut in 1973 with “Love, American Style” and would go on to great things including the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for her role playing Leticia Lawrence in “Family”.
Overall, McNichol received six awards and a further 11 nominations throughout her prolific acting career.
McNichol is best known for her roles in “Little Darlings”, “Family,” “Two Moon Junction”, and “The Pirate Movie”. Although it’s been over forty years since she played some of her most popular roles, she was a well-paid actress at the time. McNichol didn’t limit herself to just acting, and also earned co-executive producer credits for the TV movie “Mother of the Bride”, and associate producer credits with “Dirty Tennis”, in 1993 and 1989 respectively.
Apart from that, McNichol also presented numerous awards such as the Golden Globes in 1982, 1986, and 1990, and the Annual Academy Awards in 1982 and 1983. In 1986 she was a judge of the Miss Universe Pageant, and in 2013 she starred in “Planet View”, a nature and adventure movie focusing on global environmental issues.
To this day, sources estimate Kristy McNichol’s net worth at around $4 million accumulated from her acting career and royalties, as well as her years of teaching at a private academy.