The Life of Sitcom Star Marlo Thomas

ABC and sponsor Clairol wanted That Girl to end with Ann Marie marrying Donald Hollinger. A wedding would have given the sitcom a traditional closing moment, but she believed it would send the wrong message after five seasons of showing Ann as independent and career-focused.

She argued that ending with marriage would suggest to young women that a wedding was the only proper happy ending. That refusal turned the finale into one of the clearest examples of her creative control.