page_title: Mackenzie Phillips
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Mackenzie Phillips / Career
caption_attribution_description: Mackenzie Phillips
context_page_description: Laura Mackenzie Phillips is an American actress and singer, known for her roles in American Graffiti, as rebellious but ultimately loving teenager Julie Mora Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time, and for the Disney Channel science fiction show So Weird.
context_section_description: Phillips was 12 years old during the filming of American Graffiti, and 13 when the movie was released. She was cast as Carol Morrison, a young girl accidentally picked up by hot rodding teenager John Milner (Paul Le Mat). Because of California state law, producer Gary Kurtz became Phillips' legal guardian for the duration of the filming.
  Phillips gained stardom in the 1970s when she played boy-crazy teenager Julie Cooper (when the character got married, her married name was Horvath) on the long-running television show One Day at a Time, for which she earned $50,000 (equal to $237,570 today) a week. During the show's third season in 1977, Phillips was arrested for disorderly conduct. Because of her drug and alcohol abuse, Phillips began arriving late and was even incoherent for rehearsals. The producers ordered her to take a six-week break to overcome her addiction but were ultimately forced to fire her in 1980.
  After two near-fatal overdoses, Phillips voluntarily entered Fair Oaks Hospital for rehab treatment. After she completed treatment in 1981, the producers of One Day at a Time invited her back to the show. However, in 1982, Phillips resumed her cocaine use and the following year, she collapsed on the show's set. When she refused to take a drug test, she was fired again, permanently; her character was written out of the series. In 1992 she entered a long-term drug rehab program and underwent intensive treatment for nine months.
  From the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, Phillips performed with a re-formed version of The Mamas & the Papas, known as The New Mamas and The Papas.
  In 1999, Phillips co-starred with Cara DeLizia in the Disney Channel series So Weird, playing a fictional rock star named Molly Phillips. She sang original songs written by show producers Jon Cooksey and Ann Marie Montade. In 2002, she appeared in the Disney Channel original movie Double Teamed. Phillips guest-starred on episodes of ER, Without a Trace, 7th Heaven, Cold Case, and Beverly Hills, 90210.
  Phillips won an Honorary Best Actress award on March 20, 2011, at the closing night awards gala of the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for her performance as Sharon in the 2010 independent film Peach Plum Pear. While in Toronto, she was interviewed on Canada AM, ET Canada, and The Marilyn Denis Show.
  Beginning in 2016, Phillips works at the Breathe Life Healing Center in West Hollywood, California, as a drug rehab counselor.
  In 2017, Phillips appeared in an episode of the rebooted One Day at a Time as Pam Valentine. The role was apt, given Phillips' history: she portrayed a counselor. She reprised the role in 2019, in two episodes of the third season.
  In 2018, Phillips appeared as Barbara Denning in multiple episodes of Netflix original Orange Is the New Black.
caption: Phillips in 2008
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