Biography
Though many cautionary tales were penned about the toll wreaked upon the rock 'n' roll legends of the 1960s, few included the impact such destructive lifestyles had upon their children. One of the gloomiest exceptions was that of Mackenzie Phillips, daughter of The Mamas & the Papas founder John Phillips and the teenaged star of the popular sitcom "One Day at a Time" (CBS, 1975-1984). Exposed to her father's drug habits and witness to all manner of unsavory behavior before she reached the age of 18, Phillips developed her own addiction to cocaine during her tenure on the series, and was dropped from the cast after a 1980 arrest for possession. A stint in rehab preceded her return to the show the following year, but by 1983, her problems had returned to such a degree that the producers were forced to fire her again. She got sober in 1992 and resumed her acting career with a vengeance, appearing as a guest star in countless programs and as a regular on the kids' fantasy "So Weird" (Disney Channel, 1999-2001). She gave frequent testimony to her unfortunate past in interviews, but proved that her demon days were not so far behind her with an airport bust in 2008 for cocaine and heroin. Upon the publication of her memoirs a year later, Phillips found herself in the middle of an even bigger media firestorm after disclosing that most taboo of family secrets about her and her beloved Papa John. As an alleged survivor of incest and a well chronicled survivor of drug abuse, the public rallied around the troubled star as they never had before, proving that despite the many public stumbles along the way, she had endeared herself permanently in the public conscience as a figure of sympathy and goodwill.
