Angie Dickinson Honors Her 'Fantastic & Very Talented' Daughter In Private Life 16 Years After Her Death

• Angie Dickinson gave a rare interview a few months after her last appearance in public.
• "I honor her memory every minute of every hour of every single day," she said about the death of her daughter.
• She revealed details about her current life after she chose to live a secret life after losing her only child.

Angie Dickinson is a retired actress who rose to stardom after appearing in the Western drama series, "Rio Bravo," (1959). She recently introduced the 4K World premiere restoration of "Rio Bravo" at the Turner Classic Film Festival."

Dickinson starred alongside Hollywood heavyweights including John Wayne, Ricky Nelson, and Dean Martinon the show. In the present day, "Rio Bravo" is considered a Western masterpiece.

"I knew it was going to be an extraordinary experience, but I didn't know how extraordinary," Dickinson said during a recent interview.

After the show put her on the map, she had a successful five-decade-long showbiz career and has since appeared in over 50 films.

The North Dakota native starred in "Ocean's 11" and later became a household name after appearing in the hit 1970s crime drama series, "Police Woman."

When asked how she bagged the gig, Dickinson explained that before the show, there was another one called "Police Story" and that in its season finale, there was a female cop undercover.

The show's executive producer, David Gerber, approached her while she was filming the 1974 crime comedy film, "Big Bad Mama."

She further recalled him asking whether she wanted to be a superstar. That was when it dawned on her that she actually did want to become one, and so she decided to join the show.

Dickinson Still Mourns Her Daughter After 16 Years

Besides her career, Dickinson has been married twice. She was first married to Gene Dickinson from 1952 until 1960 and later wed composer Burt Bacharach in 1965, but they divorced in 1981.

Bacharach sadly died in February 2023. He and Dickinson shared a daughter named Lea. She was one of his four children but was Dickinson's only child.

Lea was born three months premature in 1966 and was instantly placed into a preemie isolette. No one was allowed to touch her. Dickinson believes it is probably why her daughter isolated herself for most of her life.

"Even the doctors back then didn't know the value of touch, that if you never get touched or hear a loving voice or get held in those first months, you won't ever feel real or feel connected to anything," she penned in a Los Angeles magazine piece in August 2010.

Lea had autism, and after her birth, her mom stayed close to home. The television star wanted to connect with her child by embracing her, engaging in conversations, and ensuring she was in touch with her surroundings.

Still, Lea's behaviors worsened as she grew older. She tore pages from books and expressed her frustration by kicking walls. Back then, autism was not as common as today, and many barely knew what it was.

Dickinson revealed she only started talking when she was three years old. However, she grew up to be an athletic child, having partaken in several activities, including ballet, horseback riding, gymnastics, swimming, and scuba diving.

At age four, Dickinson raved that her beloved child "could play the piano like a prodigy." But she also had disturbing behaviors, such as cutting hair from her dolls or the tails of her toy horses.

In addition, Lea was also a hoarder; she saved anything she could get her hands on, including dog poo and an old battery on her dresser in her closet.

In January 2007, Lea tragically took her own life by suffocating herself. Her famous mother disclosed she had read the book "Final Exit" and had often talked about suicide.

Dickinson recounted proudly watching her child singing in church on what was her last Christmas Eve and said this about the experience:

"I could hardly hear her over everybody else, but when I looked at her, I smiled at how much gusto she had singing those Christmas songs. She was free and at peace at that point because she knew where she was going."

After Lea's birth, her mom stayed close to home. The television star wanted to connect with her child by embracing her, engaging in conversations, and ensuring she was in touch with her surroundings.

Still, Lea's behaviors worsened as she grew older. She tore pages from books and expressed her frustration by kicking walls. Back then, autism was not as common as today, and many barely knew what it was.

In a recent interview, Dickinson was asked to describe her daughter and explained she had bad eyesight because she was born prematurely after saying:

"Nikki was fantastic and very talented. […] She couldn't read music, so she had to everything by ear, but she loved to play the drums."

When asked how she honored Lea's memory, the "Point Blank" star said, "I honor her memory every minute of every hour of every single day."

Dickinson Shares Details about Her Life Years after Her Daughter's Death

After losing her child and going through two divorces, Dickinson has since started living a low-key life. On April 13, 2023, she kicked off the TCM Classic Film Festival, which was her last public appearance.

The movie star is now 91 years old, and when told she still looked stunning at age 79 in a 2011 interview, she disputed that, saying, "I look my age," while adding she felt like she was two decades younger.

In her most recent interview, Dickinson was asked what she does to keep healthy. She revealed she is a "vegetarian" but that she occasionally feasts on country-fried chicken.

She does not consume huge meals and gets an eight-hour sleep. Moreover, the "Dressed to Kill" star does her very own gardening and keeps "out of trouble."

In a 2019 interview, Dickinson was asked whether she had any regrets during an interview and revealed she had a few of them. "You wish you had done everything differently," she admitted.

But when looking back at her long acting career, Dickinson said she had had a blast. "Everyone should be so lucky. For me, it's been a wealth of joy," she added.

In her most recent interview, Dickinson was also Asked about the lessons she has learned, and she shared some words of wisdom.

"I’ve learned to never miss a sunset if it’s possible. I’ve learned to be kind when I want to swear like hell. And I've learned to just stop talking when I’ve said enough," Dickinson expressed.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org.

Subscribe to AmoMama on Google News!