© 2026 ABC News

She donated proceeds from that book to the JDRF.

She lobbied the government in Washington, D.C., to help as well. On more than one occasion in the 2000s, she testified before Congress, asking legislators to up funding for juvenile diabetes.

Moore was candid about what the condition cost her. \"My peripheral vision has been severely limited because of my diabetes, which means I can see just fine looking straight ahead. But if I am at a function with lots of people, I am constantly bumping into people — even kicking them! I have to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing or else I would never go out,\" she told Success. \"When I speak to those who are newly diagnosed, I encourage them to work with what they have — not against those things.\"

Through the years, Moore co-founded and supported other organizations that fought for animal rights, including Farm Sanctuary and Broadway Barks, which holds dog adoption events in New York City. She was a strong supporter of adopting shelter animals.

Her Struggles With Alcoholism and as a Mother

In her 1995 memoir \"After All,\" she wrote at length about her struggles with alcoholism.

\"I went to the Betty Ford Center and got a lot of education there and a lot of spirit and determination. Somebody said something — it's a cliche, you've heard it 100 times, but they say if you want to get all the air out of a glass, what do you do? There's no way to do it but fill it with something else. And that something else is joy of living, reading, being creative, know you're doing the right thing,\" she told Larry King in 2005.

\"PHOTO:
Amazon
PHOTO: The book cover of Mary Tyler Moore's memoirs "After All," 1995.
>

She also spoke out about her shortcomings as a mother to her son, Richie Meeker, who died in 1980 at the age of 24 after an accident involving a shotgun.

She wrote in her 1995 memoir that she felt she wasn't home enough and spent too much time at work. Before his death, Meeker dealt with a drug problem, and though she said she helped him recover, she wrote that she missed events like his high school graduation because of work.

\"There is no question about it. By the time Richie was 5, I had already let him down. When he needed me the most, I was busier and even more self-concerned than I had been when he was an impressionable infant,\" she wrote in \"After All,\" according to an excerpt obtained by People magazine.

Years later, she said she still regretted not being there enough for her son before his death. She also regretted not having more children.

\"I still feel as if I weren't a good enough mother. I didn't break any rules. I didn't cause my son any pain. But I did bring to my life some of my father, who was very controlling and very remote. I was working a lot. I wasn't there enough,\" she told Parade magazine in 2009.

Moore was married three times: to Dick Meeker, Richie Meeker's father, from 1955 to 1961; Grant Tinker from 1962 to 1981; and Robert Levine in 1983.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/mary-tyler-moores-life-hollywood/story?id=45044278","legacySlug":"/culture/story/mary-tyler-moores-life-hollywood-45044278","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"21:04","publishDate":"01-25-2017","updatedTime":"22:11","updatedDate":"01-25-2017","socialImage":{"alt":"American actress and presenter Mary Tyler-Moore is pictured at the 6th annual Broadway Barks event benefiting New York City animal shelters and adoption, Jan. 3, 2017.","credit":"James Edstrom/Camera Press/Redux","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/RD-MaryTylerMoore-MEM-170125_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"1/25/2017 21:04:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":45044278,"headline":"Mary Tyler Moore's Life Outside Hollywood","mediaAssetTitle":"rothman_marytyler_outside_170125","description":"Her work as an advocate and an author.","duration":"4:23","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2017/01/160125_spev_mary_tyler_moore_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132488083","132306053","132266872"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 23, 2026","headline":"Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","section":"News","slug":"/video/132306053","id":"132306053","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 22, 2026","headline":"Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","section":"News","slug":"/video/132266872","id":"132266872","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Mary Tyler Moore's Life Outside Hollywood","description":"Her work as an advocate and an author.","duration":"4:23","uploadDate":"01-25-2017","publication":"01-25-2017","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2017/01/160125_spev_mary_tyler_moore_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2017/01/160125_spev_mary_tyler_moore_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/mary-tyler-moores-life-hollywood-45044278"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132675442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132665875","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Mary Tyler Moore's Life Outside Hollywood","pubTime":"16:04","pubDate":"01-25-2017","modTime":"17:11","modDate":"01-25-2017","taxonomyTags":"none","id":45044278,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Mary Tyler Moore's Life Outside Hollywood","mediaAssetTitle":"rothman_marytyler_outside_170125","videoId":45044278,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/mary-tyler-moores-life-hollywood-45044278"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/45044278","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/45044278","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};