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The Heartbreaking Story Of Jeanne Little 0:20
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The family of one of Australia's most loved entertainers opens up to Studio 10.
- news.com.au
- 28 Feb 2015
- News
Television presenter ... Jeannie Little has Alzheimer’s. Picture: Supplied Source: News Limited
SHE was the dazzling star of Australian daytime television, who sparkled on screen and every red carpet she ever walked.
But now even Jeanne Little’s only daughter doesn’t recognise the woman her mother has become since her slow and painful decline from Alzheimer’s disease.
Katie Little has told Studio 10 of her heartbreak at watching the once vivacious TV personality lost inside the confusing mental maze of dementia.
“She’s not the same person that she was, but she’s still my mother, so it’s difficult,” Little, a young mother herself told the show’s showbiz reporter, Craig Bennett.
GROWING FEARS: For our ‘daarling’ Jeanne Little
TV personality ... Jeanne Little with her daughter Katie in 2001. Source: News Corp Australia
“The only blessing with Alzheimer’s is that she doesn’t know what she’s going through because it’s just so horrible.”
The 76-year-old, who began her TV career on The Mike Walsh Show in 1974 showcasing designer maternity fashions when she was pregnant with Katie, was diagnosed in 2009.
Red carpet darling ... Jeanne Little was famous for her outrageous sense of style, as seen here at the 2007 Logie awards at Crown Casino, Melbourne. Picture: Supplied. Source: News Limited
Her husband Barry, an interior designer, made the difficult decision to place Little in full-time nursing home care where her family say she is permanently bedridden.
It’s a shocking way to live for a star performer who entertained audiences with her outrageous antics, signature shrill voice and affectionate persona.
In happier times ... iconic TV star Jeanne Little. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
Any update of her deteriorating condition is met with tears and comfort from her industry colleagues, who remember the vibrant and warm woman she was.
It is their memories and the high regard with which her mother is still held by co-workers and fans which reaffirms the impact she made, Katie said.
“It’s no wonder every housewife around Australia was turning the TV on and going ‘what is she doing this week’ because she made life fun.”
Beautiful person ... Jeanne Little with daughter Katie in 2001. Picture: Supplied Source: News Corp Australia
In a sad anecdote, Katie reveals one of the first moments she realised her mother may be battling the mental illness when she couldn’t remember the names of her TV friends.
“It was so sad because I borrowed mum’s lovely silver clutch purse and inside there was a little piece of paper with a couple of names written in mum’s handwriting and I realised when mum was running off to the other room it was because she couldn’t remember people’s names and these were really dear close friends...it’s tragic looking back on things like that,” she said.
Her mother’s decline “does break my heart,” Katie added, “it really does. I mean, you know you can’t choose your fate and is this a very hard thing to go through, watching my mother not be able to care for herself...it’s just so difficult.”
The full interview will air on Studio 10 on Monday, March 1 from 8.30am.
