Glynnis O’Connor was primed for acting right from the beginning. Her parents are producer Daniel O’Connor and actress Lenka Peterson, who worked with Glynnis in several TV movies. Her brother, Darren O’Connor, has also enjoyed a successful acting career. In her late teens, she was featured on As the World Turns (1956), and Sons and Daughters (1974), co-starring Gary Frank.
A graduate of the State University of New York, Glynnis found her niche portraying sensitive, fretful young romantics. She hit her stride in her early adult career with Jeremy (1973), Ode to Billy Joe (1976) (based on the hit song by Bobbie Gentry’), and Our Town (1977) opposite then-boyfriend Robby Benson. Other credits include All Together Now (1975), The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976) starring up-and-coming John Travolta, Baby Blue Marine (1976) with Jan-Michael Vincent, and played tennis champion Maureen Connolly in Little Mo (1978).
With all this diversity displayed, Glynnis still lacked that certain spark that could take her into the front ranks. Her name and off-camera personality somehow never meshed with the movie-going public despite her continued excellence. In Melanie (1982), she played as an uneducated woman trying to regain custody of her son. In Why Me? (1984), she played as an Air Force nurse forced to readjust after being disfigured in a car accident. Glynnis’s career then went into a rather swift decline. Despite this setback, she can still be seen sporadically on film and TV.
