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Mackenzie Phillips' Son Is All Grown-Up and Became a Gifted Musician inside Life of the 'One Day

Actress Mackenzie Phillips' son is all grown up, and like his grandfather, he is a gifted musician.

In this, he is like his grandfather, John Phillips, of the 60s group "The Mamas & the Papas," with whom Mackenzie had a complicated and contentious relationship.

Mackenzie admitted in her 2017 book "Hopeful Healing" that she had used drugs throughout her pregnancy

Mackenzie Phillips at The Paley Honors: A Special Tribute To Television's Comedy Legends in 2019 | Source: Getty Images

MACKENZIE PHILLIPS - CHILD STAR

It was during her two years sojourn on the show that Mackenzie's drug and alcohol problem manifested itself. At the age of 18, she was already battling addiction and after several incidents, Mackenzie was fired.

Valerie Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips on the set of "One Day at a Time" | Source: Wikimedia

THE HORRIFIC TRUTH

Mackenzie would reveal in her 2009 memoir "High On Arrival," that she was introduced to drugs at the age of 11 by her father, who injected her with cocaine. The downward spiraling into drug addiction and dependence on alcohol had begun.

Mackenzie Phillips and Candy Clark at The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' screening Of "American Graffiti" in 2013 | Source: Getty Images

At the age of 19, Mackenzie was engaged to rock group manager Jeffrey Sessler -- a relationship no one in her family, including her father, who was determined to break up the relationship and prevent the wedding.

The Mamas and the Papas performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968 | Source: Wikimedia

THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL

Her father flew to Miami to see Mackenzie the day before her wedding, and she met him at his hotel room where they consumed drugs together. Mackenzie was drawn into a new nightmare. She revealed:

"I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father."

John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas in a 1967 | Source: Wikimedia

A bewildered Mackenzie brought up the taboo subject months later, asking her father why he had raped her, but he calmly told her the encounter had been consensual. And it wasn't the last time she was subjected to his abuse.

THE NEW MAMAS AND THE PAPAS

During the mid-80s, Phillips reformer his old rock group into The New Mamas and The Papas, and Mackenzie joined the band on tour, and on stage. For the next 10 years, she would occasionally find herself waking up after a drug binge in her father's bed.

MARRIAGE AND MOTHERHOOD

The marriage to Sessler lasted a brief 2 years, after an ominous beginning that saw Mackenzie's home burned to the ground. In 1986, Mackenzie married rock guitarist Shane Fontayne. Fontayne and Mackenzie share son Shane Barakan, born in 1987. The marriage ended in 2000, but they maintained a close friendship ever since.

“Should I apologize to Shane every day for shooting coke while I was pregnant? No. Is that appropriate? Absolutely not. Does he know about it? Yes.”

PROUD MOM

Despite her problems, Mackenzie was devoted to her only son and is enormously proud of his talent. Shane is a talented singer, and a gifted songwriter, who promises to follow in his father's and his late grandfather's footsteps into the music industry.

HOPEFUL HEALING

“I’ve changed my life and think it’s important for people to see you can recover. Shame is an illusion.”

Mackenzie, who faced enormous pressure from after revealing her father's abuse, and saw herself excluded from her family circle, does not back down from her daily challenges after a life of dependency.

For Mackenzie, her revelation about her incest experience had a positive outcome. After her first book was published, she was contacted by thousands of incest survivors, who thanked her for bringing a forbidden subject to the fore.

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Abbie Anker

Update: 2024-05-19