On February 5, 1965, while on location filming 7 Women (1966), a pregnant Patricia was bathing daughter Tessa Dahl at a rented home when she suffered a massive, paralyzing stroke, followed by two more. Baby Lucy Dahl was later born healthy but in its aftermath, the actress suffered from partial paralysis, partial blindness, she lost her memory and was unable to speak. Husband Roald Dahl had her undergo extensive therapy back in England, including swimming, walking, memory games and crossword puzzles.
On March 4, 2007, she received one of the two Lifetime Achievement Awards presented annually by the SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis University, following a screening of her classic film A Face in the Crowd (1957) (Roy Scheider was the other honoree).
Pat and Roald's ordeal and ultimate victory over her illness made for an excellent TV movie, The Patricia Neal Story (1981) (TV), starring Glenda Jackson and Dirk Bogarde.
Performed with the Tennessee Valley Players before studying drama at Northwestern University.
Received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award in 1986.
Returned to work 3 months after giving birth to her son Theo Dahl in order to begin filming Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).
Returned to work 6 months after giving birth to her daughter Olivia to begin performing in "A Roomful of Roses" on Broadway.
Roald was credited with helping her rehabilitate after her strokes. He designed her recovery routines.
She has a grandchild from daughter, Ophelia Dahl, and Ophelia's partner, Lisa Frantzis.
She was offered the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967) but she was nervous about doing such a demanding role so soon after her stroke.
Unhappy with her roles in Hollywood, she was suspended by Warner Bros. for refusing to co-star with Randolph Scott in a western. That and her torrid but futile affair with married actor Gary Cooper, which led to an abortion and nervous collapse, quickened her decision to leave Hollywood and return to New York City where she refocused on theater.
Won the Tony, Donaldson, Theatre World and New York Dramatic Critics awards for her 1946 Broadway performance in Lillian Hellman's "Another Part of the Forest". It was Hellman who later introduced Patricia to future husband Roald Dahl.