Sandra Dee, the perky teen queen of 1950s and '60s movies, says she dropped out of sight for the past 20 years as she battled alcohol, pills and eating disorders.
Dee, born Alexandra Zuck in Bayonne, N.J., nearly 49 years ago, said in the March 18 edition of People magazine that her problems began when she was sexually abused as a child by her stepfather and pushed into stardom by her mother.Dee, who turned to pills and alcohol, said she hit bottom after her mother died in 1988.
Dee credits her 29-year-old son, Dodd, with helping her turn her life around. She now sees a therapist regularly and hopes to land a job on a TV series.