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Faye Dunaway opens up about her bipolar disorder diagnosis in the upcoming documentary, Faye, about her life and career.
The 83-year-old Oscar winner credits her condition, characterized by alternating periods of euphoria and depression, for part of her notorious misconduct in the film and theater industries.
He National Institutes of Health An estimated 7 million Americans suffer from bipolar disorder each year.
The medication, the Network star said, has helped her regain control of her life.
Faye Dunaway, 83, opens up about her bipolar disorder diagnosis in the new documentary FAYE (pictured, Monday, in New York)
“I worked with a group of doctors who analyzed my behavior and prescribed me pills that they thought would be good for me. And that helped me,” Dunaway said in the film, according to Page Six.
“So I’m more calm. But throughout my career, people know there have been difficult moments.”
“I don’t intend to make excuses for this. I remain responsible for my actions.”
“But this is what I came to understand was the reason for it,” he added.
“It’s something that needs to be taken into account. We need to try to do the right thing to fix it.”
Bette Davis, who co-starred with Dunaway in The Disappearance of Aimee in 1976, told Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show in 1988 that she found Dunaway “totally impossible,” “uncooperative” and “very unprofessional.”
Chinatown director Roman Polanski told Rolling Stone magazine in 1974 that he found the actress “a huge pain in the ass” but continued to work with her because he had “never met an actress who took her job as seriously as she did.”
The Bonnie and Clyde star’s son Liam, whom she shares with her ex-husband, the late photographer Terry O’Neill, told filmmakers his mother “hit rock bottom” a couple of years ago.
Dunaway told the filmmakers she believes the disorder was responsible for some of her bad behavior on set. Chinatown director Roman Polanski said he found the actress “a huge pain in the ass,” but that he had “never met an actress who took her job as seriously as she did.”
Bette Davis, who worked with Dunaway on The Disappearance of Aimee in 1976, said her co-star was “totally impossible,” “uncooperative” and “very unprofessional.”
Dunaway’s son, Liam, said he was able to get his mother into treatment when she “hit rock bottom” a few years ago. “Thank God there is medication,” Dunaway said. “I’ve been able to benefit from it.”
‘I got to a point where I said, ‘Hey, listen, we’re going to take you to this clinic in Boston,’ she said.
As part of her treatment, “she went to lectures and classes and they gave her the right stuff and she came out a completely new person.”
Dunaway said the diagnosis and medication had changed her situation.
“Thank God there are medications, studies and doctors who deal with this, and I have been able to benefit from that. Medications are essential, and without them you fall back into what you already have on a psychological and biological level.”
FAYE debuts on HBO/MAX on July 13.
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