Calista Flockhart was one of the biggest TV stars of the late 90s, catapulting to international fame with her starring role in the hit legal drama Ally McBeal.
From 1997 to 2002, the Illinois-born actress, 61, played the brilliant young attorney working for a prestigious Boston law firm, a performance that earned her a Golden Globe, a People’s Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. The series became a pop culture phenomenon, sparking global debates about feminism and making Calista a household name.
However, following the adoption of her son, Liam, in 2001, Calista made the decision to step back from the Hollywood limelight to prioritise motherhood.
Keep reading to find out what the actress has been up to since her career-defining role.
Calista’s life after Ally McBeal
In 2001, while filming the final season of Ally McBeal, Calista adopted her son, Liam. At the time, she expressed her delight in a statement: “I am overjoyed that I have been blessed with a beautiful and healthy son. I’m completely enchanted and awe-struck.”
The following year, Calista attended the 2002 Golden Globe Awards, where she met her future husband, Harrison Ford. The pair began dating shortly after, and nearly a decade later, tied the knot in June 2010 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
© Getty ImagesOn becoming a father to Liam, Harrison, 83, previously told Parade: “I think Liam was about 6 or 8 months old when I met him and Calista. We have been together ever since.”
After stepping back from Hollywood to focus on raising Liam, Calista returned to the screen five years later to star in the ABC family drama Brothers & Sisters, which ran from 2006 to 2011.
© ANGELA WEISSExplaining her decision to embrace a life away from the spotlight, Calista told The Drew Barrymore Show in 2024: “I felt very grateful that I had a choice so I made a choice to walk away and I don’t regret it at all. I was 99 percent a stay-at-home mom.”
Following another hiatus, the actress returned to television in 2015 to play Cat Grant in the CBS superhero drama Supergirl. She subsequently stepped away from our screens once more, making a reappearance in Ryan Murphy’s 2024 drama, Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.
© AFP via Getty ImagesThe impact of fame on Calista’s life
The huge success of Ally McBeal brought dramatic changes to Calista’s personal life. Reflecting on the impact of fame, the actress told The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast in 2024: “At the risk of sounding like I’m whining, the paparazzi truly did follow me everywhere I went. Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve ever really adjusted to the paparazzi.”
© GettyOpening up about the toll it took on her mental health, she continued: “I decided the only thing that I could do was stay inside, so I stopped leaving my apartment..
“I stopped leaving my house. I stopped going out, and I was isolated.”
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