Award Accusations and a Son’s Fight Put Her in the Spotlight — How the 71-Year-Old Icon Is Living Today
A Golden Globe win sparked backlash. Years later, a physical altercation with her son put her back in the news. But none of it tells the full story of where this famous actress is now.
In the early 1980s, she found herself onstage accepting one of Hollywood’s highest honors, but what should have been a breakthrough quickly turned into suspicion and ridicule.
Decades later, headlines returned, this time with her in handcuffs after a physical fight with her teenage son. However, through it all, this Hollywood star stayed standing. She built a lasting marriage, repaired relationships, and stepped into a life unlike like the one she was once known for.
When the Golden Globe winner for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture was announced in 1982, it wasn’t a name most people recognized. In fact, the film that won this actress the award hadn’t even been released in the United States.
The other nominees — including Elizabeth McGovern and Howard Rollins for “Ragtime,” and Kathleen Turner for “Body Heat” — had delivered widely praised performances and were seen as the clear front-runners.
The winning role, a provocative performance as a young woman attempting to seduce her estranged father in “Butterfly,” had gone largely unseen. Furthermore, once “Butterfly” finally hit theaters, critics wasted no time dismantling the performance.
That only fueled speculation about how, exactly, the award had been won. Suspicion quickly turned toward this famous actress’s husband at the time, Israeli-born billionaire Meshulam Riklis.
Known for his business empire, which included brands like Playtex, Dewar’s, Samsonite, as well as the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Meshulam was also the film’s sole financier.
His relationship with the actress was no secret and neither was his role in producing “Butterfly.” According to reports, he invited foreign press members to see his wife’s live act at the Riviera in Las Vegas.
He hosted others at a private screening of the film inside his Beverly Hills mansion. In the weeks that followed, the media blitz intensified, with glossy features in Playboy and New York magazine helping to elevate the actress’s visibility.
When she was announced as the winner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, many attendees were still trying to place her face. Industry figures and columnists began openly speculating that Meshulam had engineered the award. One detail fueling the perception was timing.
The screening at his mansion took place just weeks before the voting. Another was access. The by-laws allowed for in-home screenings, and the billionaire argued that others did the same thing by wining and dining press members. The famous actress later addressed the backlash:
“When Rik told me the press claims we bought off the judges, I felt so bad that I was sorry I won. It hurts me terribly, and it’s not true.”
