‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’ actress Denise Nickerson dies at 62

Denise Nickerson, who played perpetual gum-chewer Violet Beauregarde in the classic “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” has died at 62.

Her family shared the news in a short post on Facebook early Thursday.

“She’s gone,” they wrote.

Her family had announced Tuesday that Nickerson suffered a “major medical emergency” on Monday and was hospitalized.

“She’s had seizures this morning and is in pulmonary and respiratory distress,” they wrote in an earlier Facebook post. “The doctors have found that she aspirated and has developed pneumonia.”

They said in an update Wednesday that Nickerson’s condition was not going to improve.

“Things have been relatively quiet and peaceful all day,” that post read. “We’ve had visitors to share fond memories, say their goodbyes, lift our spirits, and support us. We’ve taken turns resting, and crying, and coping, and back again.”

The former child actress previously suffered a stroke in June of last year.

Nickerson appeared in a number of TV and film roles as a kid and teen during the 1960s and ’70s but was best known for her performance alongside Gene Wilder in 1971’s “Willy Wonka,” in which her character expands into a giant blueberry after trying an innovative piece of gum she shouldn’t have during her visit to the chocolate factory.

The actress was 14 when that beloved fantasy flick adapted from an earlier book premiered.

She also appeared on 71 episodes of the horror series “Dark Shadows” from 1968 to 1970 and played Allison on the children’s show “The Electric Company” from 1972 to 1973.

Nickerson appeared on an episode of “The Brady Bunch” in 1974 as well. She mostly stopped acting in 1978, when she was 21.

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