"Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" star Denise Nickerson has died, based on a posting on a Facebook page run by her family. A two-word message simply said, "She's gone." It came hours after an earlier post that Nickerson was passing slowly and being taken off medications.
Nickerson, 62, played Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 version of "Willy Wonka."
Nickerson was taken to the ICU in June 2018 after suffering a severe stroke and entered a rehab facility. Her family posted on Facebook Tuesday that she had undergone a major medical emergency and had suffered seizures.
Her condition continued to worsen. The family posted to Facebook Wednesday that she was still alive, writing, "The doctors, nurses, and we are surprised that this is the case as it was expected her respiratory system would've shut down hours and hours ago. She's still not going to improve at all, she's just going very slowly."
The family also clarified some misinterpretation that Nickerson had been taken off life support. They wrote that she was never on life support. They say she had been taken off an intravenous drip with antibiotics and anti seizure medications, as well as a "very strong oxygen pump" which they said was not the same as life support.
Her family has started a GoFundMe campaign to support death expenses. The page had not been updated as of Thursday morning to confirm Nickerson's passing.
Nickerson's son announced in March that he was expecting a baby girl with his wife, Jasmine.
