Frances Klein MacGraw: Who was Ali MacGraw’s mother?

Frances Klein MacGraw is an artist and the mother of Ali MacGraw. Frances Klein MacGraw’s daughter Love Story actress Ali MacGraw earned critical acclaim for her role in the romantic 1970 film alongside Ryan O’Neal. For the role, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She was voted the top female box office star in the world in 1972 and was honored with a hands and footprints ceremony at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre after just three films.

Frances Klein MacGraw: Bio Summary

Who is Ali MacGraw’s mother?

Frances Klein MacGraw was born in 1901 in Boston, Suffolk, MA, United States of America. She was the daughter of Maurice Klein and Pauline (Donmer) Klein. She was Jewish, the daughter of emigrants from Budapest, Hungary.

Because of her own mother’s illness, Frances Klein MacGraw took care of her eight siblings. MacGraw’s mother chose not to disclose her ancestry to Ali’s father, instead professing ignorance about it. “I think Daddy was bigoted,” MacGraw told Vanity Fair.

Frances Klein MacGraw was an Artist

Ali MacGraw has left her mark in Hollywood. The  American actress and animal rights activist also played the female lead in Convoy (1978) and headlined the romantic sports drama Players (1979), the comedy Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), and appeared in the historical novel-based television miniseries The Winds of War (1983).

Ali was the daughter of a commercial artist. Her mother was considered a “pioneer” as an artist, who had taught in Paris before settling in Greenwich Village. Her love for art got her to marry another artist Richard MacGraw. Frances married Richard MacGraw when she was age 34.

ALSO, READ; Richard MacGraw: What happened to Ali MacGraw’s father?

The couple tied the knot on 25 May 1935 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States in a beautiful wedding ceremony in the presence of their friends, families, and loved ones. Frances and Richard were parents to two children- Ali MacGraw and her brother Richard MacGraw Jr. who is also an artist.

Frances supported her husband with commercial art assignments. According to her daughter, she deemed her husband “the real artist,” but Richard’s paintings never sold, and he felt emasculated and frustrated. “On good days he was great, but on bad days he was horrendous,” Ali recalls in an Interview with Vanity Fair.

“Daddy would beat my brother up, badly. I was witness to it, and it was terrible.” Frances did not intervene, and when Ali tried, “it was hopeless.” She took it upon herself to be “the controller,” hoping her ultra-good behavior might protect her brother.

Talking about her father, Ali revealed he had survived a miserable childhood in an orphanage, run away to sea at 16, and enrolled in art school in Munich. “Daddy was frightened and really, really angry. He never forgave his real parents for giving him up.” His adult life was spent “suppressing the rage that covered all his hurt.”

ALSO, READ; Robin Hoen: Who was Ali MacGraw’s ex-husband?

What happened to Ali MacGraw’s mother?

Frances Klein MacGraw passed away on March 30, 1980, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA, United States. She was 79 years old at the time of her passing. The cause of her death has not been made public by the family.

An animal rights advocate throughout her life, Frances Klein MacGraw’s daughter received the Humane Education Award by Animal Protection of New Mexico for speaking out about animal issues. She filmed a public service announcement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 2006, urging residents to take their pets with them in the event of wildfires. She has lived in Tesuque, New Mexico, since 1994, after the house she rented in Malibu was destroyed by a fire.