The Wilson Phillips singer had been thrilled to meet one of her childhood favorites, but a photo of the encounter quickly attracted nearly 30,000 likes on Facebook<\/a>. During a recent appearance on SiriusXM\u2019s Jeff Lewis Live, Wilson revealed that the attention eventually made its way back to McNichol, who contacted her directly.<\/p>\n \u201cShe sends me an email: \u2018We\u2019re going viral,\u2019 \u201d Wilson told Lewis.<\/p>\n Kristy McNichol in 2014.Credit: Gustavo Caballero\/Getty<\/p>\n Wilson, the daughter of late Beach Boys<\/a> legend Brian Wilson, became a pop star herself as one-third of Wilson Phillips<\/a> alongside her sister Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips. The group broke<\/a> through in the early 1990s with hits including \u201cHold On,\u201d giving Carnie a career in entertainment that has spanned music and television.<\/p>\n McNichol, meanwhile, was already a familiar face to television and movie audiences when Wilson was growing up. She became widely known for playing Letitia \u201cBuddy\u201d Lawrence on Family, a role that earned her two Emmy Awards, before starring in films including Little Darlings and The End.<\/p>\n She later appeared as Barbara Weston on Empty Nest, but ultimately left acting behind and retired from the industry in 2001.<\/p>\n In a rare 2014 interview with PEOPLE<\/a>, McNichol previously explained that she was content with the life she had built away from acting, while admitting that she might return someday. \u201cNever say never,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kristy McNichol in 2019.Credit: Bobby Bank\/Getty<\/p>\n That history helps explain why Wilson was so nervous when she unexpectedly encountered McNichol at a Southern California restaurant chain, Bob\u2019s Big Boy.<\/p>\n Rather than treating the meeting casually, Wilson wanted the actress to understand just how much her work had meant to her over the years, especially the movies she had loved as a young fan.<\/p>\n \u201cI just ran into her when we first arrived,\u201d Wilson told Lewis. \u201cI said, \u2018Little Darlings is one of my favorite movies ever and The End with Dom DeLuise\u2019… but it took a lot of courage.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Kristy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/43ea9002-5b4e-4201-b8c0-f3197f4e5bff.jpg\"\/)
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