MACKENZIE PHILLIPS - Every Day Is A GIFT

The One Day at a Time alum talks about the long road she's traveled and her happy life today

- Will Keck

Mackenzie Phillips relishes the time she spends at home in her 100-year-old Spanish bungalow in Sherman Oaks, Calif. “It’s my safe space,” says Mackenzie, who rose to fame as a teenager on One Day at a Time. “My favorite place in the world.”

After many troubled years and two near- fatal overdoses, Mackenzie, 64, who has been sober since 2009, has worked hard to earn her peaceful, contented life, finding stability and new purpose working as an addiction counselor in Los Angeles. “It’s not that I don’t still love acting,” says Mackenzie, who will be meeting fans at the Hollywood Show in Burbank, Calif., on Oct. 18 and 19. “But because I found longterm recovery, I really feel passionate about being of service to people like me. I never expected to live this long to begin with, so every day is a gift of grace.”

Your dad was John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. Who were some of your favorite music performers growing up?

Carole King, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones. And I’d kiss James Taylor’s face on his album cover. I thought he was so cute!

How did your big break come about?

When I was 12, I put together a little band with some of the other kids in school whose parents were in the music industry. We took it to [the West Hollywood club] the Troubadour. There was a guy there who was casting American Graffiti and asked if I wanted to be in the movie.

Soon after that, you had a guest spot on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. What do you remember about it?

During lunch, Mary would do ballet at a ballet bar. I would just sit there and watch her being the epitome of style, grace and kindness.

Norman Lear cast you as rebellious Julie on One Day at a Time in 1975. What did you love most about the character?