Oscar winning actress Patty Duke died

Patty Duke, an acclaimed actress who won an Oscar for her role of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine on 29 March 2016. She was 69.

Duke struggled with mental illness, having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982. Later, she turned up to be an advocate of mental health issues and wrote a book highlighting bipolar disorder and its treatments. She also used her fame to fight for others struggling with the disease.

Anna Patty Duke Pearce

• Duke won a best supporting actress Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 1963 for The Miracle Worker.

• She was known for her roles in Valley of the Dolls, My Sweet Charlie and Me, Natalie, and for TV’s The Patty Duke Show, which was aired from 1963 to 1966.

• She began acting as a child and her major role came in 1959, when she portrayed the blind and deaf Keller on Broadway.

• She played the twin roles of English and American cousins living in New York.

• Over the course of her career, she received ten Emmy Award nominations and three Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.

• She also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988.

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