KRISTY McNICHOL, 57 YEARS OLD
Kirsty McNichol made her breakthrough when she played teenager Letitia ‘Buddy’ Lawrence, in the hit US television drama Family. Even before then she featured in a number of commercials and television series, managing to get the attention of some casting directors. Before long, the teenager was being nominated for Emmy’s and Grammy’s for her performances!
In 1980, McNichol landed her first leading role in a theatrical film with her role as Angel Bright in Little Darlings. The film was a real turning point for the young actress leading many to realize she was really in the acting scene to stay. But not to be forgotten, is the fact that she was still a teenager or in her early 20s in those booming years of her career, and the pressure of being in the limelight at such a young and formative age got to her, and she eventually decided to step out of the spotlight in 2001 and retire from her acting career. We are pretty sure she made enough cash through all her hard work that she will be just fine during retirement!
DIAHANN CARROLL, 83 YEARS OLD
Diahann Carroll, a Broadway and film actress, singer and former model, was the first non-white woman to star in a TV show in the 1950s, becoming a huge inspiration for many aspiring black American women wanting to build their careers in the entertainment industry. Originally considering a career as an operatic singer, she later went into acting and was nominated for numerous awards, and became the first African-American woman to win a Tony award in 1962. Carrol later defeated breast cancer, but also retired after the battle. Most recently she has had reoccurring roles in the likes of Grey’s Anatomy and White Collar.