Seen numerous times throughout the show, it shows just how frequently she switched doctors to leave behind a messy medical trail that would be difficult to piece together. Having once worked alongside a nurse’s aid, Dee Dee was familiar with enough medical terms to convince people in her life that she knew what she was talking about. Because Dee Dee was dead, it was impossible to officially diagnose her, but her behavior had fallen in line with many signs of the disorder. The lengths Dee Dee would strive towards in order to convince others of her daughter’s illnesses were due to Munchausen syndrome by proxy. “The Act,” which opens up with a 911 call from concerning neighbors about the Blanchards, stars Patricia Arquette as “Dee Dee” and Joey King as “Gypsy Rose Blanchard.” The show is Hulu’s newest limited series co-created by Nick Antosca and Michelle Dean, author of popular Buzzfeed story on the Blanchard’s. More significantly, she profited off the fake illnesses through donations and charity tips, including the house they lived in, which was built by the Habitat for Humanity. Gypsy, it turned out, had not been sick at all.ĭee Dee, who in the public eye was sought to have been a fit and caring mother, had Munchausen syndrome and had fabricated every illness to keep her daughter under control through physical and psychological abuse. Sentenced to life in prison for murdering Dee Dee in February 2019, Gypsy was found guilty of first-degree murder in November, but currently surviving a 10-year sentence.Īlthough many were relieved when Gypsy was found alive following the murder of her mother, it was this complicated tale that soon emerged. She was then found in Wisconsin with her boyfriend, Nick Godejohn, whom she had met online, where together they plotted to kill her mother.

However, in 2015, Dee Dee was found dead and Gypsy had disappeared.

The disturbing, yet tragic saga of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard has come back to life in a fictionalized version of Hulu’s brand new series “The Act.”įor those who are familiar with the pair before “the act” to which the show’s title refers to, Dee Dee posed as a loving single mother to daughter Gypsy, who claimed she was chronically ill, including a plethora of issues that stemmed from the time she was a baby.

Natalie Dest, Arts and Entertainment Editor

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