Fame came fast in the '70s — and so did the downfall for these 13 stars

Susan Dey rose to fame when she was just 17 on the hit TV show The Partridge Family. When her run on the show ended in 1974, she starred as Jo March in 1978 miniseries Little Women. Later, she had another hit casting in LA Law between 1986 and 1992, earning several Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe for Best Actress. 

But, during her early years of fame, Susan struggled with mental health issues and decided to leave acting behind in 2004. Now at 73, she's focusing on life with her husband Bernard Sofronski and their daughter, Sara Dey-Hirshan, whom she shares with her first husband, Lenny Hirshan.

At just 8 years old, Mark Lester started acting in films such as Fahrenheit 451, Our Mother's House, and then landed the lead role in Oliver! alongside Ron Moody. In the early '70s, Mark took on roles in Scalawag and La Prima volta sull'Erba. At around 20 years old, he worked on the historical film The Prince and the Pauper, also known as Crossed Swords, which starred Oliver Reed and Raquel Welch.

After his breakout role, Mark appeared in several more films and TV shows until 1977 when he decided to quit the film industry and travel in Europe. When Mark was 28, he started studying at the British School of Osteopathy. After graduating, he opened an acupuncture clinic in Cheltenham. Mark, who is now 68 and semi-retired osteopath, is a father of four with his first wife Jane, who he divorced in 2005.

Ali MacGraw started acting during the '70s in a decade-defining role in Love Story. She starred as working-class music student Jenny Cavilleri opposite Ryan O'Neal's Harvard heir Oliver Barrett. Ali kept acting for years, appearing in the film Convoy and the hit drama TV show Dynasty.

Since her days of Hollywood fame, Ali, now 87, has been living quietly in New Mexico, focussing her energy on her community, animal welfare and yoga. She has one son, Joshua Evans, 55, who works as a filmmaker and actor.

While Rick Moranis is best known for his film and TV appearances during the '80s, he started his career in the '70s. The comedian, who got his start on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, starred in films like Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horrors, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

When his wife, talented costume designer Ann Belsky, passed away from breast cancer in 1991, Rick, who is now 73, retired in order to work as a full-time father to his two children Rachel Moranis and Mitchell Moranis.

Charlie's Angels star Kate Jackson starred in the hit '70s series as one of three secret agents and their manager Charlie. But while she found success on screen Kate always kept her family as the top priority.

She adopted her son Charlie in 1995 and decided to step away from Hollywood. "I realized that I really couldn't be a good director and a good mom at the same time," Kate, 77, explained at PaleyFest LA 2026 in April 2026, adding: "I thought, ‘If I'm not a good mom, it really doesn't matter what else I do well.'"

In 1978, Robby Benson starred in touching drama Ice Castles as the love interest of Lynn-Holly Johnson, where he helps a partially blind ice-skater regain her skills on the rink. Years later, he voiced the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. 

Since then, Robby has largely moved away from the camera, transitioning into directing and academics. He recently appeared in Severance and deployed his Disney voice skills for Once Upon a Studio. The 70-year-old actor is married to singer Karla DeVito, with whom he shares two children, Zephyr Benson and Lyric Benson.

Rick Springfield is better known for his singing career with hits like his breakout track 1972's "Speak to the Sky" and '80s favorite "Jessie's Girl," but during the '70s, he also found fame on screen.

The 77-year-old singer acted in Saturday cartoon Mission: Magic! which premiered in 1973. Playing an animated version of himself, Rick wrote and performed a new song for each episode's end. Although his time on the screen is more sporadic, he hasn't left acting behind, recently appearing in the series All's Fair in 2025, and is still releasing music, as well as touring.

Born Walter Stacy Keach, the 85-year-old actor has an impressive resume on screen and the stage. Appearing in films like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and The Bourne Legacy and in shows like Two and a Half Men and Blue Bloods.

Now in his '80s, Stacy has slowed down. The actor has two children via adoption with his wife Malgorzata Tomassi, who he married in 1986.

Liv Ullmann was nominated for two Oscars during her career and it was the '70s that truly cemented her as a star talent on screen. Her collaborations with director Ingmar Bergman were legendary, including the likes of Cries and Whispers and Scenes from a Marriage. 

The arthouse icon has been seen less frequently on screen since her '70s heyday, most recently appearing in 2012 German thriller Two Lives. At 87, she is reportedly due to star in upcoming horror film The Nix.

Ellen Burstyn is best known for sending a shiver down audiences' spines in The Exorcist as leading lady Chris MacNeil. The actress followed up her iconic role in films Same Time, Next Year and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Ellen cemented her star status.

Her talent on the screen carried over into the 21st century, including flicks like Requiem for a Dream, The Age of Adaline, and Interstellar. She returned to The Exorcist franchise for 2023's The Exorcist: Believer. Now 93, Ellen prioritizes her health by walking her dog regularly in Central Park and eating a plant-based diet.

Richard Dreyfuss starred in Jaws, the '70s sci-fi hit Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and beloved romantic film The Goodbye Girl. He established himself as one of the decade's most prominent leading men.

The actor, 78, recently returned to shark-based horror in Into the Deep and starred in 2024 drama Waltzing with Brando. According to his IMDb, his comedy project Killing Winston Jones was actually filmed over a decade ago in 2012, but remains notoriously unreleased to this day.

At the age of 10, Tatum O'Neal became the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award for her role in the 1973 film Paper Moon, co-starring alongside her father, Ryan O'Neal. As a child actor, she appeared in films like The Bad News Bears and International Starlet, before stepping back from more frequent roles in the mid '80s.

Tatum's career was tempered by several highly publicized personal struggles, including a notoriously strained relationship with her father, which she later detailed in her autobiography A Paper Life. Since then, she has guest starred on shows like Sex and the City and Criminal Minds, but largely refrained from lead roles. Tatum suffered a stroke in 2020 and is currently focusing on her recovery.

Bo Derek shot to fame with her breakout role in the rom-com 10, where she instantly became a pop culture sensation. She went on to star in A Change of Seasons alongside Anthony Hopkins, and a series of films directed by her then husband, John Derek, including Tarzan, the Ape Man, and Bolero. 

After a string of TV appearances, Bo gradually stepped away from stardom and pivoted towards business ventures and advocacy, known for her outspoken support of horse welfare, even serving on the California Horse Racing Board. Since 2002, Bo has been in a relationship with actor John Corbett. The two tied the knot in 2020 after 20 years together.