Latest news with #TamO'Shaughnessy
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Astronaut Sally Ride Gave Life Partner Permission to Reveal Their 27-Year Romance 10 Days Before Dying
Groundbreaking astronaut Sally Ride and her partner Tam O'Shaughnessy were together for 27 years Ride died in 2012 of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 61 The new documentary Sally debuts June 16 on Nat Geo and will stream on Disney+ beginning the following daySally Ride is remembered for her pioneering journey into space, but a new documentary reveals another dimension of the astronaut's story. Ride's life partner Tam O'Shaughnessy opens up about their 27-year romance in Sally, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January and will debut on Nat Geo June 16 and stream on Disney+ beginning June 17. The documentary covers Ride's rise at NASA to become the first American woman in space in 1983 as well as her lesser-told love story, which started in the '80s. Though they kept their relationship hidden from the public for decades, O'Shaughnessy says that changed right before Ride died in 2012 of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 61. 'Ten days before she died, I asked her how I should be to the public,' O'Shaughnessy tells PEOPLE. 'I was holding sort of a public celebration of her life, and then a national tribute at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. And it was like, 'So who am I?' ' 'Our friends and family knew, and people guessed. It didn't feel honest,' she continues. 'She told me, you decide what you want to say, how open you want to be about our relationship.' O'Shaughnessy doesn't hold back on sharing her and Ride's intimate moments in the documentary. Since Ride was such a private person and the couple only had a few photos together, Sally director Cristina Costantini says they relied on filming recreations of actors that were 'all inspired directly from Tam's memory.' O'Shaughnessy, whose childhood friendship with Ride became romantic in 1985, says she hopes the film will help people understand their relationship and ultimately portray an American hero 'as who she really was.' 'We had a wonderful relationship from the time we were kids until we became lovers,' O'Shaughnessy says. 'I think it's something to be proud of.' Costantini praises O'Shaughnessy's vulnerability and humor as a narrator in the film, saying that her participation 'changed everything.' 'Sally is so closed off in her communication that Tam was the closest and most intimate voice that we could get to Sally,' the film's producer, Lauren Cioffi, adds. O'Shaughnessy says there are a few moments in her Sally interview reel 'where I sort of break down.' 'When I was describing my relationship with Sally, and especially when Sally got sick, I got teary-eyed, and it just got me all the way through to my heart and guts,' she says. 'And that was a little bit of a surprise.' Sally premieres on Nat Geo June 16 and will stream on Disney+ beginning June 17. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Astronaut Sally Ride Gave Life Partner Permission to Reveal Their 27-Year Romance 10 Days Before Dying
Groundbreaking astronaut Sally Ride and her partner Tam O'Shaughnessy were together for 27 years Ride died in 2012 of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 61 The new documentary Sally debuts June 16 on Nat Geo and will stream on Disney+ beginning the following daySally Ride is remembered for her pioneering journey into space, but a new documentary reveals another dimension of the astronaut's story. Ride's life partner Tam O'Shaughnessy opens up about their 27-year romance in Sally, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in January and will debut on Nat Geo June 16 and stream on Disney+ beginning June 17. The documentary covers Ride's rise at NASA to become the first American woman in space in 1983 as well as her lesser-told love story, which started in the '80s. Though they kept their relationship hidden from the public for decades, O'Shaughnessy says that changed right before Ride died in 2012 of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 61. 'Ten days before she died, I asked her how I should be to the public,' O'Shaughnessy tells PEOPLE. 'I was holding sort of a public celebration of her life, and then a national tribute at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. And it was like, 'So who am I?' ' 'Our friends and family knew, and people guessed. It didn't feel honest,' she continues. 'She told me, you decide what you want to say, how open you want to be about our relationship.' O'Shaughnessy doesn't hold back on sharing her and Ride's intimate moments in the documentary. Since Ride was such a private person and the couple only had a few photos together, Sally director Cristina Costantini says they relied on filming recreations of actors that were 'all inspired directly from Tam's memory.' O'Shaughnessy, whose childhood friendship with Ride became romantic in 1985, says she hopes the film will help people understand their relationship and ultimately portray an American hero 'as who she really was.' 'We had a wonderful relationship from the time we were kids until we became lovers,' O'Shaughnessy says. 'I think it's something to be proud of.' Costantini praises O'Shaughnessy's vulnerability and humor as a narrator in the film, saying that her participation 'changed everything.' 'Sally is so closed off in her communication that Tam was the closest and most intimate voice that we could get to Sally,' the film's producer, Lauren Cioffi, adds. O'Shaughnessy says there are a few moments in her Sally interview reel 'where I sort of break down.' 'When I was describing my relationship with Sally, and especially when Sally got sick, I got teary-eyed, and it just got me all the way through to my heart and guts,' she says. 'And that was a little bit of a surprise.' Sally premieres on Nat Geo June 16 and will stream on Disney+ beginning June 17. Read the original article on People
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Why Sally Ride's Legacy Still Challenges The Culture Of STEM
Astronaut Sally RIde with a headset on in space during her STS-7 flight. Sally Ride made history on June 18, 1983, when she became the first American woman to launch into space. Her calm precision and unflinching focus made her an icon in STEM—a face of possibility for girls across the country and around the world. But a new documentary from National Geographic, Sally, reveals another dimension of her legacy—one that remained private throughout her lifetime. Premiering June 16 on National Geographic and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the next day, Sally tells the story not only of Ride's groundbreaking achievements as a physicist and astronaut, but of her 27-year partnership with fellow scientist and educator Tam O'Shaughnessy—a relationship Ride never publicly acknowledged while she was alive. Directed by Emmy-winner Cristina Costantini, the film reframes Ride's legacy, offering a deeper, more personal portrait of a woman who inspired millions while carefully guarding her own truth. I recently had the privilege of sitting down with O'Shaughnessy and Costantini to better understand the motivation behind the documentary and what they hope audiences will take away from it. What emerged from our conversation was a sense that this film isn't just about legacy—it's about visibility, resilience and the complicated cost of breaking barriers in science. Being first often means carrying the weight of symbolic representation. Ride wasn't just an astronaut—she was proof that women could thrive in space and science. But with that role came expectations: be competent, but never emotional. Be visible, but only selectively. The unwritten contract Ride operated under demanded technical excellence and personal silence. As Tam told me, the decision to finally share their relationship publicly didn't begin with a film pitch. It began with grief. 'Since about a week before Sally died, I told her I wanted to hold a celebration of her life,' she said. 'And then I wondered who I was going to be to the people coming to the celebration who didn't know we were a couple.' Sally told her, 'You decide. Whatever you decide will be the right thing to do.' That moment of quiet affirmation—Ride's way of granting permission without demanding visibility—was the start of a longer process. It would take more than a decade, but O'Shaughnessy eventually found the right partners in National Geographic and Costantini to tell the full story. Costantini, known for documentaries like Science Fair and Mucho Mucho Amor, wanted Sally to be about more than just history. 'We made this film for anyone who's ever had to hide part of themselves to get where they want to be,' she told me. 'In 2025, that experience feels more relevant than ever.' That sense of coded identity—the need to suppress aspects of self to be taken seriously—remains a reality in many corners of science and technology. Despite progress, LGBTQ+ scientists are still underrepresented in leadership roles. Women in STEM continue to navigate environments that value output over authenticity. This is particularly poignant and relevant today, as the Trump administration systematically and aggressively works to erase visibility of women, people of color, immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals from US history. And while Ride's accomplishments helped crack the glass ceiling, her silence shows us the structural weight it takes to hold that ceiling in place. Astronaut Sally Ride next to a T-38 Jet during training at NASA Johnson Space Center. Even after leaving NASA, Ride continued to shape the STEM world. In 2001, she and O'Shaughnessy founded Sally Ride Science, a nonprofit aimed at promoting STEM education for girls and underrepresented youth. That mission continues today at UC San Diego, where O'Shaughnessy and a dedicated team run programs that connect students with scientists and researchers. It's not just the curriculum that draws kids in—it's the name. 'Sally's name is magic,' O'Shaughnessy said. 'It's why the boys and girls sign up, and it's why parents want their kids to be exposed to these programs.' And that's what makes the timing of Sally so significant. At a moment when LGBTQ+ stories are being scrubbed from public institutions and women's rights are under attack, this documentary insists on complexity. It reclaims a narrative that was always there, but never acknowledged. What Sally reveals is a fuller picture of a scientist, a leader and a partner. Someone who not only pushed the boundaries of what women could do in science, but who also made space—quietly, privately—for the people she loved. Ride's story still resonates because it's unfinished. It now invites a broader range of people to see themselves in her legacy—not just young girls interested in STEM, but anyone who's ever felt that they had to choose between their passion and their identity. For the STEM community, that's the challenge ahead. The human race has a lot of challenges to address and there are plenty of undiscovered frontiers to tackle. We can't afford to exclude entire populations of people based on nothing more than fragile egos and narrow-minded bigotry. It's not enough to recruit diverse talent. We have to build systems where people can bring their full selves to the work. Because progress isn't just about putting the first woman in space. It's about making sure she wouldn't have to hide once she landed.
