Famous Bipolar People

PATTY DUKE - FAMOUS BIPOLAR ACTRESS

Ann Marie Duke is an American actress, singer and a mental health advocate. She was born on 14th December, 1946. Duke started her acting career very early and at age 12, she featured on the $64,000 Question and won $32,000. At age 16, she won an American Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also once the president of Screen Actors Guild. She played the lead role in The Miracle Worker, on which she stayed for two years. She also appeared on printed advertisements and television commercials. Duke is also an accomplished singer. Her songs were among the top 40 songs in 1965. She performed on many public shows, and was always loved by the audience.

Duke started her own series after featuring in many other series. The Patty Duke show was successful and drew many audience. The show was canceled in 1967 when Patty began her adult acting career. She stared as Neely O’Hara in Valley of the Dolls. The movie was successful. Her movie, Me, Natalie won her a Golden Globe. But the movie did not do as well as the first one did. She also won an Emmy Award. She received another Emmy for a TV miniseries, Captains and Kings in 1977, and another for The Miracle Worker in 1980

 

Duke suffered from mania, a form of bipolar disorder. Duke was an unhappy woman despite her accomplishments. Her guardian family, the Rosses tried to make her look normal but to no avail. The Ross family started giving her alcohol and drugs when she was only 13. She resorted to continuous drug use even as a teenager, which almost ruined her career. She was also taken to alcohol addiction. Her acceptance speech for one of her awards depicted hatred, anger and disjoint ramblings.

Duke was said to have had a difficult childhood. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother suffered from clinical depression. At age 6, she was given to John and Ethel Ross to take care of. Duke suffered many forms of abuse in the hands of her new family. This family took control of all Duke’s earnings and gave only a small portion to her and her mother to spend. They were also reported of abusing her sexually. When she turned 18 and was free to leave the Rosses, Duke found that they spent all her money. This made her very bitter, a bitterness that caused her severe depression. She was said to have suffered the mental health issues throughout her life. She was given series of treatments including lithium, which helped her recover.

 

Duke became a mental health advocate, sharing her experiences with the public. She told people how she felt in her depression days and how she has been able to overcome the disease. She also helped many people with mental health problems.

 

John Astin married Duke and adopted and fathered her son. The marriage improved her life but ended in divorce some years later. She later married Michael Pearce. They adopted a son together.