Faye Dunaway Shares Bipolar Diagnosis and How Her Documentary Served as a Form of ‘Catharsis’

Harrison Richlin
·2 min read
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Faye Dunaway’s career has had its series of ups-and-downs. She’s won an Academy-Award, an Emmy, three Golden Globes, a BAFTA, starred in classic films such as “Chinatown,” “Network,” and “Bonnie and Clyde,” but has also been dragged for her contentious on-set behavior. Her infamy hit a fever pitch after playing fellow challenging starlet Joan Crawford in the cult hit “Mommie Dearest,” then was reignited as a result of her flub during the 2017 Oscar Ceremony, where she and Warren Beatty unknowingly announced “La La Land” as winner of Best Picture instead of the actual recipient, “Moonlight.”

This past July, HBO released the documentary “Faye,” which aimed to explain the root of Dunaway’s “difficult” personality. In a recent interview with The Independent, Dunaway opened up on the process of exploring her life and revealing parts of herself she’d worked to keep hidden.

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“I actually have, we might as well say, a bipolar diagnosis,” Dunaway said, a fact featured heavily in “Faye.” As she spoke further, she expressed how her mood swings feel interlinked with her ability to perform as an actress.

“The mania we tap into, and the sadness, of course… I don’t know how all that works exactly but I understand that I need all of that to use in my craft,” said Dunaway. “It has been a difficulty, of course, as a person sometimes. It’s something I’ve had to deal with and overcome and understand. It is something that is part of who I am, and that now I can understand and deal with much more.”

When asked if sharing her diagnosis on camera was cathartic in any way, Dunaway said, “Cathartic is a good word. It was. To look at it all and see what it added up to. It was difficult sometimes, because it is very private to me. I was a bit wary at seeing it all out there, but that’s the process — it’s the whole point of the film, the sharing of who I am. I dug deep!”

Many will say that the time period in which Dunaway was at the height of her career — a time when double standards and male chauvinism unabashedly pervaded the entertainment industry — exacerbated issues surrounding her mental health, but Dunaway refused to place blame on her circumstances.

“There are ups and downs,” said Dunaway to The Independent. “A career is a canvas. There are wonderful things. Then there are things that are less wonderful.”

“Faye” is now available to stream on Max.

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