Actress and Mental Health Advocate Patty Duke Dies at 69
Abstract
As one of Hollywood’s first stars to go public about her life with bipolar disorder, Patty Duke paved the way toward greater understanding of mental illness and its treatment.
The mental health advocacy world lost a leading ally in March when renowned actress Patty Duke died on March 29 in Idaho. She was 69.
At APA’s 2008 Annual Meeting, Patty Duke said that being diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 32 was a relief because it helped her make sense of her many years of suffering. She was interviewed by Altha Stewart, M.D., now APA secretary.
Duke, born Anna Marie Duke in Queens, N.Y., in 1946 to a mother with depression and a father who struggled with addiction to alcohol, became accustomed to fame at an early age when she began to act on stage and live TV in the early 1950s. Duke was removed from her home by her managers and began acting professionally at the age of 7.
At the age of 16, Duke had the distinction of being the youngest star to win an Oscar Award for her portrayal of Helen Keller in the film “The Miracle Worker” and subsequently won two Golden Globe awards, three Emmy Awards, and a People’s Choice Award.
When Duke was a teenager, she began to experience mental instability and mood swings that would characterize the next 20 years of her life. Her illness resulted in multiple suicide attempts and psychiatric hospitalizations.
Once she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 32, she received treatment and soon found her “true calling” as a mental health advocate, Duke explained to an audience at APA’s 2008 Annual Meeting.
She wrote a 1992 memoir about living with bipolar disorder titled A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness and spent the remainder of her life working to increase awareness of the condition.
She lobbied Congress and helped the National Institute of Mental Health push for increased mental illness funding and research.
“APA is profoundly saddened by the loss of Patty Duke,” APA President Renȳe Binder, M.D., told Psychiatric News. “As an early leader of the mental health advocacy movement, she lifted some of the mystery and stigma surrounding mental illness by sharing her experiences with bipolar disorder. Her role as a mental health advocate, as well as the many roles she played on screen and stage throughout her life, has impacted many lives.”
Following Duke’s death, her son Sean Astin launched a crowd-sourcing site called the Patty Duke Mental Health Project to continue her legacy of mental health advocacy. According to the site, funds will be used to “fuel a multilevel approach to achieving results for those suffering with mental illness and for their families and communities. Public awareness campaigns, lobbying efforts, and supporting a multitude of mental health programs big and small will be organized, prioritized, and vigorously pursued.” ■
Information about the Patty Duke Mental Health Project can be accessed here.
