Anne Sullivan Anne Sullivan Johanna Mansfield Sullivan Macy (April 14, 1866 – October 20, 1936), better known as Anne Sullivan, was an American teacher, best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller. At the age of five, Sullivan contracted trachoma, an eye disease, which left her blind and without reading or writing skills. She received her education as a student of the Perkins School for the Blind where upon graduation she became a teacher to Keller when she was 20. Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866, in Feeding Hills, Agawam, Massachusetts. According to her baptismal certificate, her
Anne Sullivan It then moved to Broadway, and was later produced as a 1962 feature film. Both the play and film featured Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. Patty Duke, who played Keller on Broadway and in the 1962 film version, later played Sullivan in a 1979 television remake. Roma Downey portrayed her in the TV movie "Monday After the Miracle" (1998). Alison Elliott portrayed her in a 2000 television movie. Alison Pill played her on Broadway in the short-lived 2010 revival, with Abigail Breslin as Keller. Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, for