Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She first became known as a teen star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16 for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), a role which she had originated on Broadway. The following year she was given her own show, The Patty Duke Show, in which she played "identical cousins". She later progressed to more mature roles such as that of Neely O'Hara in the film Valley of the Dolls (1967). Over the course of her career, she received ten Emmy Award nominations and three Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Duke also served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988.
Duke was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982, after which she devoted much of her time to advocating for and educating the public on mental health issues.
Duke was married four times and had three children. In 1965, Duke married director Harry Falk, who was 13 years her senior. During their marriage, she had repeated mood swings, drank heavily, became anorexic and overdosed on pills a number of times. The couple divorced in 1969.
In early 1970, at the age of 23, Duke dated then-Here's Lucy star, 17-year-old Desi Arnaz, Jr. The couple's relationship was widely publicised, due in part to the vocal and public opposition of Arnaz's mother, actress Lucille Ball. By late spring, Duke and Arnaz had broken off their relationship and she began dating actor John Astin, who was 16 years her senior. Around the same time, Duke developed an intimate relationship with rock promoter Michael Tell.
In June 1970, Duke learned she was pregnant and married Michael Tell on June 26, 1970, in order to "give her child a name". Their marriage lasted 13 days before ending in an annulment on July 9, 1970; Duke said the marriage was never consummated. Duke's son, actor Sean Astin, was born on February 25, 1971.
Though Duke said in her 1987 autobiography that Astin was the biological father, she later stated that she had always believed that Arnaz Jr. was his biological father. It turned out neither statement was correct; in 1994, Sean Astin underwent biological testing to determine his paternity and the results showed that Astin's father is actually Tell. Duke married John Astin in August 1972. Astin adopted Sean and the couple had another son, actor Mackenzie Astin, in 1973. Duke and Astin worked together extensively during their marriage and she took his name professionally, becoming Patty Duke Astin. The couple divorced in 1985. Duke married her fourth husband, drill sergeant Michael Pearce, in 1986. Duke and Pearce had met during the production of A Time to Triumph, for which Pearce served as a consultant. The couple moved to Hayden, Idaho and adopted a son, Kevin, who was born in 1988. From her marriage to Pearce until her death in 2016, Duke occasionally used the name "Anna Duke-Pearce" in her writings and other professional work. Duke had three granddaughters by her eldest son Sean: actress Alexandra "Ali" Astin, Elizabeth, and Isabella.