OH OSCAR –
May 9, 2026 – Kevin McEnroe, the son of actress Tatum O’Neal and tennis star John McEnroe, is reflecting on his relationship with his mom.
In “Dear Tatum,” written as a letter addressed to his mother and published at The Small Bow, Kevin opened up about his early memories of his mother’s addiction struggles.
Kevin recalled O’Neal’s sobriety journey, separating her identity as a mother from what he describes as her separate identity as “Tatum.”
Although he “sometimes” still calls O’Neal “Tatum,” he mostly now calls her “Mama,” Kevin, 39, wrote.
“When I was little, you were my mom, until your boyfriend gave you heroin,” Kevin wrote of his childhood. “You were my mom when you were clean, between rehabs, but then sometimes you were Tatum, too. I used to think Tatum took my mom away. Now I think Mom and Tatum just wanted something different. I think Mom and Tatum didn’t always get along.”
