Redmond O’Neal, the only son of late actress Farrah Fawcett, has had numerous run-ins with the law throughout his life.
Born during Fawcett’s relationship with Ryan O’Neal, Redmond initially seemed set to follow in his half-sister Tatum O’Neal’s footsteps as a child actor before a string of drug-related arrests derailed his budding Hollywood career in the early 2000s.
Redmond endured the deaths of both of his parents — Farrah died at age 62 in 2009 after a three-year battle with anal cancer and Ryan died at age 82 of congestive heart failure in December 2023.
Redmond’s legal troubles have only intensified in recent years, as he debuted devil horn facial tattoos during a March 2026 court appearance in relation to an attempted murder charge.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Redmond’s life.
Who Is Redmond O’Neal?
Redmond James Fawcett O’Neal is the youngest of Ryan O’Neal’s four children. The Love Story actor welcomed his two eldest children, daughter Tatum O’Neal, born in 1963, and son Griffin O’Neal, born in 1964, during his four-year marriage to Joanna Moore from 1963 to 1967.
Ryan shared son Patrick O’Neal, born in 1967, with his second wife, Leigh Taylor-Young. Redmond arrived in 1985 while Ryan was in a relationship with Farrah Fawcett. (Ryan and Farrah were originally together from 1979 to 1997 and once again from 2001 until the Charlie’s Angels star’s death at age 62 in June 2009.)
Redmond had a brief career as a child voice actor, having worked on cartoon series Johnny Bravo and the 1998 animated movie The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. As a teenager, he was a production assistant on Nick Cannon and Christina Milian’s 2001 romantic comedy Love Don’t Cost a Thing.
Redmond has been private about his dating life and reportedly never married.
Redmond O’Neal Has a Long History of Legal Issues
Much of the media scrutiny around Redmond O’Neal throughout his life has revolved around his numerous run-ins with the law.
Per the Los Angeles Times, Redmond was placed on probation after being arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine and cocaine possession in 2005. Two years later, he struck a deal to avoid jail time for an arrest on drug possession and one misdemeanor DUI charge. (In that 2007 case, Redmond was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay a $1,688 fine.)
Redmond and his father, Ryan, were arrested on September 17, 2008, at their Malibu home when police said they found methamphetamines on Redmond and in his father Ryan’s bedroom during a search. (Ryan was charged with one felony count of possession of methamphetamine. Redmond received a felony count of possession of methamphetamine as well as two misdemeanors: possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal possession of pepper spray.)
At the time, Ryan told Vanity Fair that the drugs confiscated from his bedroom were not actually his.
“It wasn’t mine — I had taken it away from [Redmond] the night before,” he said. “But when the cops came at 4:30 in the morning, with Farrah there, I wasn’t going to say, ‘It’s his!’”
Ryan ultimately pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of a controlled substance and completed an 18-month drug diversion program, per The Hollywood Reporter.
ABC News reported that a judge ordered Redmond into a two-week detox program in October 2008 when he admitted to relapsing. He was later sentenced to probation for bringing drugs into L.A. County Jail after completing a drug-diversion program.
Redmond escaped jail time once again in August 2011 when he agreed to plead no contest to heroin possession and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was ordered to stay in a live-in drug rehab center for one year and serve five years of probation.
After his arrest in April 2015 for a probation violation, a Los Angeles judge sentenced Redmond to serve three years behind bars. He was credited for 302 days of time served in the interim and was ultimately released from custody in 2016.
In May 2018, Redmond was arrested for an alleged armed robbery of a convenience store and held without bail. He was formally charged with one count of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of criminal threats, one count of brandishing a knife and one count of battery the following month.
He was initially ruled incompetent to stand trial but a 2025 reversal meant that he would face the charges in court after all, per the Daily Mail. Redmond was hospitalized at Patton State Hospital, in San Bernardino, California, for three years leading up to a 2026 court appearance. (Redmond’s attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in that 2026 hearing.)
At this latest hearing, Redmond had devil horns tattooed on either side of his face as well as the words “F*** life” on his left hand, per the Daily Mail. He also had a “5250” tattoo on his left cheek. (California uses the penal code “5250” to authorize an involuntary psychiatric hold for up to 14 days for people considered a danger to themselves or others.)
The attempted murder case is ongoing, as of March 2026.
What Did Farrah Fawcett Say About Redmond O’Neal’s Legal Issues?
Farrah Fawcett never publicly commented on her son Redmond O’Neal’s drug problems.
Her friend Mela Murphy told People in 2019 that Farrah was worried for Redmond in the moments before she succumbed to cancer at St. John’s Health Center in Los Angeles in 2009.
“She was saying his name, ‘Redmond,’” Murphy recalled. “That was the last thing she said.”
Murphy recalled promising a dying Farrah that she would look after her only son.
“I told her I’d take care of him, that I’ll always be there for him,” Murphy said. “I said, ‘You can go now.’ It was just a few hours before she died.”
People reported that Farrah left Redmond $4.5 million in a trust fund when she died.
What Did Ryan O’Neal Say About Redmond O’Neal’s Legal Issues?
Following his and Redmond O’Neal’s Malibu arrest in 2008, Ryan O’Neal opened up to Vanity Fair about his failures as a father.
“I’m a hopeless father. I don’t know why,” Ryan admitted in 2009. “I don’t think I was supposed to be a father. Just look around at my work — they’re either in jail or they should be. I have nice grandchildren, though.”
By that time, Farrah Fawcett was battling for her life against anal cancer. Ryan speculated that Redmond wouldn’t be around to comfort his mother at the end of her life.
“[Redmond] knows she’s going to die. He’s going to be in there [jail], and some guard’s going to tell him,” Ryan said. “We’ll bury her without him. It’s going to be s***ty, but she’ll never know; that’s the one saving grace.”
Farrah died at age 62 in June 2009.
Ryan tried to publicly distance himself from Redmond following his son’s 2018 arrest on attempted murder charges. He told Radar Online that his son was “not well” but predicted Redmond would likely “go to jail.”
“If I must [help the victims], I will. Redmond can take care of himself,” Ryan insisted.
Ryan died at age 82 in December 2023.
What Did Tatum O’Neal Say About Redmond O’Neal’s Legal Issues?
Redmond O’Neal’s sister Tatum O’Neal dealt with her own substance issues throughout her life. While Tatum supported her brother at several of his court hearings over the years, she admitted to People in 2015 that she’d “never seen a more scary side of addiction.”
“He’s got addiction problems so bad that it breaks my heart,” Tatum told the publication. “Nobody knows what to do with Redmond. From what I’ve seen, there is no way he’s going to survive.”
Tatum said she was most concerned that Redmond would have “a safe place to put his head down” so he didn’t end up on the streets.
“He’s been so kind to me. I try to love him so he can love himself,” she insisted.
The Oscar winner went on, “I told him how beautiful and how strong he is and, ‘You can do this.’ I asked him, ‘Why don’t you come to a [12-step] meeting with me?’ He said, ‘I don’t want to go to any meetings.’ I wanted to mother him. Now that his mother is gone, I wanted him to know there was a woman in his life he could turn to. But unfortunately the disease has overtaken him.”
