Jennifer Salt looked worlds away from her days as one of Hollywood’s rising stars as she made a rare public appearance in Los Angeles more than 35 years after retiring from acting.
The 81-year-old actress was spotted enjoying a stroll in the California sunshine, dressed casually in a white graphic T-shirt, pale blue cropped trousers and teal trainers. In several photos, Jennifer was seen holding hands with a young girl as the pair walked through a residential neighbourhood.
While many will remember her as one of the standout faces of 1970s television and film, Jennifer quietly stepped away from life in front of the camera in 1990, embarking on an entirely new chapter behind the scenes.
From scream queen to sitcom star
Jennifer first caught audiences’ attention with a small role in the Oscar-winning classic Midnight Cowboy in 1969, appearing opposite Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman.
The film held special significance for the actress as its screenplay was written by her father, Academy Award winner Waldo Salt, whose celebrated career would later inspire Jennifer to pursue writing herself.
She went on to star alongside Margot Kidder in Brian De Palma’s acclaimed 1972 psychological thriller Sisters, a film that cemented her status as one of the era’s emerging horror stars. Jennifer and the director had also briefly dated while attending college together.
That same year, she appeared alongside Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Play It Again, Sam before becoming a familiar face on television throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Fans also saw her pop up in popular series including The Love Boat, Family, Love, American Style, Magnum P.I., Murder, She Wrote and Family Ties.
© Getty ImagesHer most memorable role
Jennifer’s best-known television role came in the hit ABC comedy Soap, where she played Eunice Tate across 65 episodes between 1977 and 1981.
The groundbreaking sitcom also helped launch the career of Billy Crystal, who became one of Hollywood’s biggest comedy stars.
After a brief run on The Marshall Chronicles in 1990, Jennifer decided to leave acting behind for good.
© Getty ImagesReinventing herself
Although she briefly considered leaving Hollywood altogether and even explored a career in interior design, a conversation with close friend Jill Clayburgh changed the course of her future.
The actress encouraged Jennifer to attend a writers’ workshop, where she discovered a passion for storytelling from behind the camera.
“It was terrifying. But I wanted more than anything in the world to get out of acting, and so I plugged away at a corny screenplay for two years,” Jennifer told The New York Times in 2010.
© GPRESS / MEGAShe admitted one of the biggest appeals of writing was leaving behind the pressures that often come with acting.
“Mostly I decided to try writing because I didn’t have to be young and beautiful and thin to do it,” she said.
“But I was utterly shocked at how fun it was once I got started. I loved that I was in charge of my own intelligence.”
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