Mackenzie Phillips hid in her home, made compulsive purchases and struggled with personal issues, she tells Oprah Winfrey.
The 49-year-old former child star, best known as Julie on the sitcom “One Day at a Time,” also reportedly tells Winfrey about a family secret she’s kept hidden for 31 years. The interview is scheduled to air Wednesday. Phillips’ book, “High on Arrival,” comes out the same day. Staffers at Winfrey’s show wouldn’t comment on the details of Phillips’ interview. Phillips, the daughter of the Mamas and the Papas founder John Phillips, has led a troubled life that has included substance abuse and a 2008 arrest at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of cocaine and heroin possession. She later pleaded guilty to one count of cocaine possession and was ordered to a drug rehab program. The interview features Phillips discussing the time she spent hiding in her home, compulsively purchasing items from a television shopping channel as well as the events surrounding her arrest. Phillips starred as Julie Cooper on the hit CBS comedy “One Day at a Time,” which ran from 1975 to 1984. During her time on the sitcom, she battled drug addiction and underwent drug rehabilitation. She later was fired from the show because of her drug abuse. Watch Phillips discuss her arrest In a promotional clip for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Phillips also says that her father shot her up with drugs. John Phillips, who died in 2001, had a well-documented drug problem and was convicted of drug trafficking in 1981. He told many stories of his drug abuse in his memoir, “Papa John.” Mackenzie Phillips also tells Winfrey about an encounter she purportedly had with rock ‘n’ roll legend Mick Jagger. “One Day at a Time” co-star Valerie Bertinelli also appears on the Winfrey show in support of Phillips.
Phillips’ career as an actress took off when, as a teen, she performed the role of Carol Morrison in the 1973 film “American Graffiti.” In the late 1990s, her career experienced a revival when she began co-starring on “So Weird,” a Disney Channel program.
