Born in Elmhurst, New York, Patty Duke began her acting career in the late 1950s, achieving fame onstage at age 12 as Helen Keller in the original Broadway production of The Miracle Worker, and then winning an Oscar at 16 for her role when the production was adapted into the 1962 film. The Patty Duke Show catapulted her to mass fame, a sitcom that was created for the teenage star. She became a vocal advocate for mental health issues after she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982.
Patty Duke died at age 69 of sepsis from a ruptured intestine.
