One Day at a Time’s Mackenzie Phillips Says She ‘Never Expected to Live This Long to Begin With’

Mackenzie Phillips relishes the time she spends at home in her 100-year-old Spanish bungalow in Sherman Oaks, California. “It’s my safe space,” says the actress, 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, California, on October 18 and 19. “But because I found long-term 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?

Julie made her wants, needs and desires very clear and was sometimes met with a very stern response. I feel as though Julie and I were very similar in so many ways, but Julie had the support of her family, where [I was] off running around Hollywood.

Are you still close with Valerie Bertinelli, who played your TV sister?

Definitely. We love each other. We text and talk quite often. When Valerie had her cooking show, Valerie’s Home Cooking, she would have me on every season, which was fun. I’m trying to get her to do one of the Hollywood Shows with me. It’s a nice little family with a great mix of celebrities and reunions.

What was it like working with Bonnie Franklin, who played your mom?

I miss her so much. Bonnie swore like a sailor and was very passionate about the show. She fought for it to be authentic and would show up to the Monday morning table reads with all of her notes.

How about Pat Harrington, who played Schneider?

Pat was one of the funniest, filthiest, dirtiest people I’ve ever met. He would do these racy little skits in our rehearsal hall — which we all appreciated.

Did you ever meet a legend you were impressed by?

Walter Cronkite. I was probably 17 and Valerie was with me. We were all on CBS. I remember going up to him and asking, “Mr. Cronkite, will you be my dad?” And he said, “I would be honored to be your father.”

What was your real mom, Suzy Phillips-January, like?

She was a brilliant, funny woman who was [former Secretary of Defense Robert] McNamara’s personal secretary at the Pentagon. She wore diamonds and pearls while smoking a cigarette. The early years with her were hard because she was an active alcoholic — but as I got older and we both got sober, things really changed. She died in 2016 at 80 years old and 18 years sober.

Having survived years of addiction, have you considered why you lived and so many others don’t?

It’s too heartbreaking to even consider. I do carry some survivor’s guilt, but I’m happy to be alive. I sometimes think God had a plan for me.

What advice do you have for other people dealing with addiction?

You don’t have to live that way anymore. There are people out there with resources who want to help you. As long as there is breath, there is hope. I went back to school to become a counselor and have now been working with Breathe Life Healing Centers for over nine years. I’ve been able to help women work through issues that are similar to mine.

In 2018, you had a memorable arc on Orange Is the New Black as an inmate who was taking drugs. Was that challenging?

Not at all. I had to snort some fake drugs and people were like, “Oh my God — you must have been so triggered.” But no. I walked away from shooting that scene thinking, “I am free. I am free.”

What do you like most about being the age you are?

You get to an age where you just don’t give a [damn] anymore. I love the freedom. I’m not a woman with a face-lift or lip filler or Botox or any of that. When Orange Is the New Black offered me the role of a woman who had been in prison for 30 years, I was thinking, “If I were a woman who was all nipped and tucked, I never would have gotten that job.”

What are you most proud of?

My son, Shane. We’re similar in many ways. We’re both vegetarians who don’t eat our friends. He’s a pickleball fanatic and is very devoted to his parents. Shane’s father, my ex-husband [of 16 years, musician Shane Fontayne] and his wife are two of my best friends. When we parted ways as husband and wife, we realized that we wanted to keep the parts of our lives that were working. We wanted to raise Shane as parents who are friends. We spend holidays and birthdays together.