What Our Favorite ’70s Stars Look Like Now

Even today, Olivia Newton-John is remembered for the tight-fitting pants she wore as Sandy in Grease. Though she’d had a few previous hits before, it was her role in the 1978 hit musical that truly launched her into stardom. Since then, Newton-John has enjoyed a degree of chart success with her memorable single “Let’s Get Physical.” Her personal life has been eventful, too, with two marriages and a brush with ill health within the last few decades. Let’s hope she continues to survive and thrive.

Maureen McCormick seemed to have the world at her feet after landing the plum role of Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch. But she hasn’t always had it so easy since. And McCormick was more than willing to reveal her troubles in her 2008 memoir Here’s the Story, including candid details of tough times that came as a surprise to fans.

From her first big break in The Godfather to her Annie Hall Oscar win, Diane Keaton has continued to be a successful actress well into her seventies. You may have also seen her presenting at the 2020 Oscars with her former Something’s Gotta Give co-star Keanu Reeves!

Henry Winkler may have shot to fame as Fonzie in Happy Days, but that iconic role didn’t stop him from taking on a range of films during the ’70s. Since then, Winkler has gone on to write, produce and direct various projects. He’s also had roles in several hit TV shows, including the acclaimed Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry.

Lynda Carter first came onto the radar as the 1972 Miss World USA winner, but it was her role as Wonder Woman two years later that made her a star. Carter broke new ground as the costume-clad heroine, earning more than any other female actress in the world at that time. And she’s still active — both on screen and as the voice of various characters in the Elder Scrolls video game series.

As a stunning model and actress, Kim Basinger thrived throughout the ’70s and ’80s. And while she acts less than she used to, you may still have seen her as Elena Lincoln in 50 Shades Darker. Ireland Baldwin, her daughter with ex-husband Alec, followed in her footsteps by becoming a model, too.

Billie Jean King earned her title as one of the most talented tennis players of all time, regardless of gender, when she beat Bobby Riggs in a “Battle of the Sexes” match in 1973. She was also the first big-name female athlete to come out. Nowadays, she’s a commentator and an author.

Lindsay Wagner played none other than the Bionic Woman throughout the 1970s. Yep, after the character proved so popular in The Six Million Dollar Man, Wagner scored her own spin-off — and it led to an illustrious career. She’s still acting, in fact! Wagner appeared in Grey’s Anatomy in 2019, for instance, and provided motion capture for the 2020 game Death Stranding.

After bagging an Oscar for her role in Cactus Flower, Goldie Hawn went on to become a big Hollywood star throughout the ’70s, appearing in a wide range of films and receiving a Golden Globe nomination to boot. Further hits followed throughout the ’80s and ’90s, courtesy of Bird on a Wire and Death Becomes Her. Since the dawn of the new millennium, however, the actress has taken it rather easier.

Known for her role in the television series Taxi, Carol Kane has enjoyed a lifelong acting career. She most recently starred in the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as the kooky Lillian Kaushtupper.

Erik Estrada had a steady acting career throughout the ’70s, but he really made his mark when he landed the role of Ponch in CHiPs. And Estrada has continued to appear on screen after the show ended, though his career has arguably slowed since. In the intervening decades, TV commercials, reality TV shows, and made-for-TV films mainly decorate his resume.

Deborah Harry and Blondie helped make the ’70s such a defining era in music. And Harry’s unique voice and style led her to become both an icon of cool and, given her hand in such iconic hits as “Heart of Glass” and “One Way or Another,” a much-loved singer/songwriter. Blondie eventually split in 1982, allowing Harry to pursue a solo career, but the band reunited 15 years later and are still active today.

Sissy Spacek shot to fame and shocked audiences after starring in the classic horror Carrie, and she was rewarded for her efforts with her first Oscar nomination. Spacek has since been nominated for a grand total of six Academy Awards and has had a steady acting career to boot. She’s also somehow found the time to raise two daughters!

As one of the few stars to receive every major award — an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony — Barbra Streisand is a powerhouse and always has been. That fact hasn’t changed much since the height of her career, but she does look a little different nowadays.

Cybill Shepherd launched her career in the ’70s with roles in The Last Picture Show, The Heartbreak Kid, and the classic Taxi Driver. And her burgeoning screen presence led her to even bigger things — in particular, a lead role in the ’80s TV hit Moonlighting and her own eponymous sitcom the following decade. Behind the scenes, though, Shepherd has been rather busy — at least, according to her 2000 autobiography Cybill Disobedience. In it, she made a whole host of extraordinary claims, including that she had once dated Elvis Presley!

As one of the most beautiful women ever, Michelle Pfeiffer’s looks have not faded over her many decades in the film industry. She’s still a working actress, too, recently appearing in the 2018 Marvel film Ant-Man and the Wasp and as Betty Ford in the Showtime series The First Lady.

It was in the ’70s that Donny Osmond broke away from The Osmonds to go it solo. And it wasn’t a bad move all told, given his nine solo albums during that decade as well as a successful chart stint with his sister. Osmond’s career has waned in the decades since, but he made somewhat of a comeback with The Osmonds in 2003.

Catherine Bach — or Daisy Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard — was a major sex symbol back in 1979. Since then, she’s had some difficult times — her husband passed away in 2010, for instance — but she’s still going strong. She’s still acting, too, with her most recent roles including a long-running stint on The Young and the Restless.

That tough guy who battles Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon? He’s Bolo Yeung, and he’s been a martial arts master for decades now. You may also recognize him squaring up to Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport or, more recently, from the Netflix action movie Diamond Cartel. And those years spent lifting weights and kicking butt must have done him good, as he definitely doesn’t look his age...

As Playboy’s “Most Desired Woman” of the decade and a Golden Globe winner for her role in The Three Musketeers, Raquel Welch had a pretty good 1970s! Since then, however, she’s turned her hand to business instead, producing skincare products and a range of wigs.

Lee Majors was already a screen success when he bagged the starring role of Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man. But while Majors went on to further screen fame in the ’80s in The Fall Guy, he’s only had minor acting jobs since that show ended.

Sally Struthers captured the heart of America when she starred in the 1971 sitcom All in the Family. She even won two Emmy Awards for the role and later moved on to TV dramas and voice work — including the role of Charlene on Dinosaurs. And while she naturally looks different from how she did in her heyday, her baby doll features remain.

Faye Dunaway is honestly as lovely as ever, but this half of the original Bonnie and Clyde duo caused a stir at the 2017 Oscars. Famously, she and Warren Beatty reunited on stage to announce the Best Picture winner — only to accidentally say the wrong movie title!

Alan Alda first won hearts as the lovable, flirtatious Hawkeye in M*A*S*H and was nominated for over 20 awards during his time in the show. Since then, Alda has gone on to have successful stints in other films and TV shows, including The West Wing. From 1993 to 2005, he was the host of the PBS pop-science program Scientific American Frontiers, too.

Charlene Tilton first became famous for playing Lucy Ewing in Dallas, and it’s a role she stuck with right through to the 21st century. She’s also been in some well-known movies, such as 1976’s Freaky Friday and the 2008 spoof Superhero Movie. And while Tilton is an older woman now, she still has that stunning blonde hair.

Mackenzie Phillips started her career at just 12 when she was cast in American Graffiti. Then, just three years later, she began appearing in the hit show One Day at a Time. Fans may not be aware, though, that the actress actually lived a very traumatic life, which she later discussed in her 2009 book High on Arrival. Despite this, Phillips pulled through it and survived.

Best known for Foxy Brown, Pam Grier enjoyed a successful film and television career well into the 2010s. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Maryland in 2011, too, and opened her own garden at the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum. She’s a woman of many talents!

Through his role in Good Times, Jimmie Walker had one of the most popular catchphrases of the ’70s with “Dyn-o-mite!” Since his time as J.J., though, Walker’s acting career has gone pretty quiet, with only a handful of on-screen appearances to boast of since the ’70s ended. Perhaps that’s because he’s decided to focus on stand-up comedy instead.

In the early 1970s, Loretta Swit started to make a name for herself as a comedy actress. Then came M*A*S*H! That show — and the star’s performance in it — would go down in TV history. In fact, Swit was nominated for Emmy Awards in ten out of the 11 years M*A*S*H was on the air. And while the actress hasn’t appeared in anything as huge again, perhaps she doesn’t need to.

She played Laurie Partridge for four years in The Partridge Family, but today Susan Dey is best known for her portrayal in L.A. Law as Grace Van Owen — a role for which she has won a Golden Globe. Yet Dey’s acting career seems to have slowed down since the early ’00s, with no screen credits to her name since 2004.

Paula Prentiss has been in the entertainment industry for a long time. Back in the day, you may have seen her in What’s New Pussycat, The Sunshine Boys, or Catch-22 — that last one alongside her husband Richard Benjamin. The star also appears in the 2016 Netflix horror I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. And Prentiss and Benjamin are still together — with more than 60 years of marriage and counting under their belts!

As an actress, model, singer, and songwriter who helped define ’70s fashion — and even inspired the iconic Hermes Birkin bag — we would be remiss not to check in on Jane Birkin. She is now a philanthropist and activist as well as a star of the screen and a recording artist — quite the resume!

Thanks to The Hardy Boys Mysteries and a successful singing career that produced hits such as “Da Do Ron Ron,” Shaun Cassidy was the teen heartthrob of the ’70s. In later years, however, Cassidy went from being in front of a camera to working behind one as a producer/writer. Yep, it’s him you partly have to thank for the NBC show Emerald City!

Dyan Cannon has picked up several Academy Award nominations over the years — including for 1969’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and 1978’s Heaven Can Wait. She was also once married to acting legend Cary Grant and is the mother of his daughter Jennifer. And with that list of achievements under her belt, we don’t blame Cannon for putting up her feet. Now in her eighties, she’s earned a happy retirement!

Susan Anton got big toward the end of the 1970s after earning a Golden Globe nomination for the 1979 film Goldengirl. The star then went on to earn her own NBC variety show, Presenting Susan Anton. But even though her star has faded a little as time has gone on, she’s kept her good looks extraordinarily well.

Linda Ronstadt was one of the most beloved musicians of the 1970s, and she has 11 Grammys to prove it. Sadly, though, her career ended abruptly after she began suffering from the effects of progressive supranuclear palsy. Hopefully, she’ll still be rocking and rolling along for a little while yet.

Hit films including The Sting and All the President’s Men, those famous good looks... it’s no wonder why Robert Redford was so popular throughout the ’70s. He was even voted Hollywood’s top box office name from 1974 to 1976. Since those days, however, the veteran star has gone on to act in some of Hollywood’s biggest films and has received numerous awards, including, in 2016, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Talia Shire is part of an acclaimed filmmaking family that includes her director brother Francis Ford Coppola as well as her movie star nephew Nicolas Cage. And Shire’s been in not one but two incredibly beloved film franchises herself: Rocky and The Godfather. In fact, the star secured Oscar nominations for her work in both of these legendary movie series.

Ellen Burstyn made people sit up and take notice in The Last Picture Show, for which she earned both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. Then came something even bigger: the legendary 1974 horror movie The Exorcist. Burstyn is still acting today, too, and in 2014 she played an important role in the movie Interstellar.

Michael Learned burst into the popular consciousness as Olivia in The Waltons. That role remains her most famous to this day. And Learned had a scandalous secret to share in 2019. She confessed to the Daily Mail that she and her on-screen husband Ralph Waite had been “in love” — even though he was married at the time. Yikes!

From humble beginnings, Meryl Streep continues to be one of the most universally adored and respected actresses of all time. Just check out those 21 Oscars noms! Also, she must have one heck of a skincare routine, as she looks fantastic for her age.

Richard Dreyfuss has Steven Spielberg to thank for his rise to fame after bagging roles in Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But the Oscar he earned for his role in The Goodbye Girl was all him. And while Dreyfuss went through a turbulent time in the ’80s, he later made a return to the screen — and can still be seen acting today.

In the 1970s Joyce DeWitt was offered a choice of two different comedy pilots. And she probably made the right pick, as the one she selected ended up being the massively successful Three’s Company. DeWitt never really wanted to be famous, though, and after the show ended, she’s kept a relatively low profile.

Jane Fonda has been an actress and model since the 1950s, but more recently she’s been making headlines for different reasons. The Grace and Frankie star has been arrested several times at protests about the environment. Looks like she’s still got that rebel spirit!

Jack Nicholson is not only one of the most celebrated actors of the ’70s but of all time. You may not have seen him much recently, though. Turns out the star of such classics as Easy Rider, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Shining has retired from Hollywood. And with such an incredible career to his name, it makes sense that he wanted to bow out on top.

Cheryl Ladd’s performance as Kris Monroe in Charlie’s Angels made her a sex symbol for the 1970s. And Ladd still has praise for the show that made her a star. In 2019 she told CNN, “The role was life-changing for sure. It gave me a 40-year career, so I have nothing but fond memories.”

It will surprise no one to learn that Judy Landers was an alumnus of Charlie’s Angels. After all, the star is good-looking and funny — and this winning combination helped make her career. Landers also popped up in ’70s TV shows such as B.J. and the Bear and Vega$. And while she’s now in her sixties, her blonde hair remains the same.

Jacqueline Bisset appeared in many films throughout the 1970s, including Airport, The Grasshopper, and Murder on the Orient Express. And in 1977 her star soared even further thanks to a sexy underwater scene in The Deep. Bisset herself hated that she’d been filmed in this way, however, and felt that it had been exploitative. That’s why, in 2018, she added her voice to Hollywood’s #MeToo movement.

Best known for the Dirty Harry movies, Clint Eastwood is an undisputed household name. And although he’s now in his nineties, he’s very much a working actor! The veteran star has mostly shifted his focus to directing and producing in recent years, however, and he’s still picking up Oscar nominations for his work.

Jaclyn Smith ended up being the only star of Charlie’s Angels to stick with the show throughout its entire five-year run. The actress even popped up in the 2003 movie Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Smith is in her seventies now, and she credits her enduring good looks to lots of exercise and healthy food.

In 1973 Jane Seymour played Solitaire — one of the most popular Bond girls ever — in Live and Let Die. In fact, she could still easily fill that role now! And not only does Seymour not look her age, but she also thinks like a younger woman. In 2014 she told HuffPost, “When I look at my actual chronological age, I’m in shock. I don’t feel like someone in my mid-60s.”

Jessica Lange earned a Golden Globe for her big-screen debut in the 1976 remake of King Kong. Fast-forward to 2015, and she racked up her 15th nomination for her work in American Horror Story. Lange played Elsa — a character who is afraid of getting old. But judging by the actress’ continued success, she has nothing to fear in real life.

Valerie Perrine nabbed an Oscar nomination for the 1974 movie Lenny — and found herself a place in many men’s hearts, too. In 2014 writer Larry Karaszewski told Vice that he even considered Perrine “the thinking man’s sex symbol.” Her life is very different today, however, as she’s been battling with the effects of Parkinson’s disease.

Jodie Foster was just 12 when she starred in Taxi Driver, and she went on to become a truly successful actress. And she’s done it all while still looking incredibly youthful. Foster claimed to People that there’s been no cosmetic surgeon involved in that, either.

Thanks to Barbara Hershey’s strange relationship with David Carradine, her star both rose and fell during the 1970s. Luckily, the Beaches actress got her career got back on track — and her stunning and long-lasting good looks have stood the test of time, too.

Britt Ekland was a huge deal in the ’70s. The Bond girl starred in The Wicker Man, was married to Peter Sellers, and became one of the most photographed celebs in the world. And she still looks great — despite a few nips and tucks here and there.

Sigourney Weaver shot to fame in 1979 as sci-fi heroine Ripley. She is now in her seventies, and the beautiful actress has insisted she’ll not go under the knife. She explained to the Daily Mail back in 2009, “I would never have plastic surgery or Botox injections. How can you as an actress?”

Anjelica Huston’s striking good looks set many hearts racing back in the 1970s and ’80s. And even though she’s now in her seventies, the actress shows no signs of retiring, with recent appearances in Smash and Transparent to add to her considerable resume. According to Huston, getting older isn’t something to dread, either. She told Vogue in 2014, “There’s a few nice things about [aging]. Don’t let them kid you.”