Friends later shared that the experience devastated Meg. She privately described it as “being hit by a truck.” CBS would later cite a desire for “better balance” in the show’s tone. Whatever the reason, the damage had already been done. Casting offers slowed. Still, Meg remained resilient. She took on roles where she could, including the TV movie Desperate Intruder, and kept her head down.
Her most talked-about feature—her extraordinary eyes—became both an asset and a challenge. Producers sometimes asked her to wear contact lenses to make them appear less distracting. Others were captivated. Mademoiselle magazine famously called them “the eyes of ’79.” Meg, characteristically grounded, replied, “I don’t look at my eyes. I see through them.”
Her career shifted toward film in the late 1980s. In Masters of the Universe (1987), she played the commanding Evil-Lyn, and in John Carpenter’s They Live (1988), she portrayed the enigmatic Holly, a performance that added to the film’s now-iconic status. She followed with roles in Stepfather II, Blind Fury, and a string of genre films that allowed her to showcase her range.
Throughout the 1990s, she made appearances on Quantum Leap, ER, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Murder, She Wrote. While she wasn’t in the spotlight, she never stopped working. Off-screen, life moved at a gentler pace. Married to actor Stephen McHattie, she raised their son Christopher in a quiet Los Angeles suburb. She grew strawberries in the backyard, cooked meals from memory, and passed down recipes shared by her sister in Seattle.
Motherhood grounded her. In interviews, Meg spoke openly about her challenges as a parent, but also about the joy. When she once confided to her young son that she’d had a hard day, he responded, “Nobody’s perfect, Mommy.” That moment stayed with her—an affirmation of the emotional depth she had worked so hard to nurture in him.
Meg Foster never chased stardom. She pursued truth. She believed in staying present, committed, and real. “The most important thing,” she once said, “is to keep a healthy perspective. Otherwise, your values fly out the window.” For her, acting was never about attention. It was about expression.
By the 2000s, her on-screen appearances slowed. Between 1999 and 2011, she only took on a few minor roles. But in 2011, she began a quiet resurgence, appearing in indie films, horror projects, and fan conventions. In 2016, she took on a bold role in Rob Zombie’s 31, delivering a performance filled with the same fearless energy she always brought to the screen.
Now, at 76, Meg Foster is more than an actress—she’s a symbol of resilience in an industry known for its short memory and relentless reinvention. Fans continue to praise her natural beauty and presence. “She’s breathtaking without a single injection,” one admirer said. Another wrote, “Her eyes are so unreal, it’s like staring into magic.”
Meg never needed the spotlight to shine. Her legacy lies in the work itself—honest, powerful, and deeply human. She didn’t vanish; she evolved. She chose substance over spectacle and stayed true to the art that shaped her.
And through it all, those unforgettable eyes kept watching—not for applause, but for meaning.