Revealed: Faye Dunaway, 83, has bipolar disorder as the Oscar-winning star of Bonnie & Clyde fame opens up in new documentary

Faye Dunaway, 83, has revealed she suffers from bipolar disorder.

The diagnosis was shared in the Oscar-winning star's new documentary titled Faye which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.

The acclaimed star, who was an A-list actress in the 1960s and 1970s with hits such as Bonnie & Clyde and Chinatown as well as The Thomas Crown Affair and Network, has for decades been called difficult.

Her new diagnosis may explain those many years of unusual behavior.

'I worked with a group of doctors who analyzed my behavior, who gave me prescriptions for pills they thought would be good for me. And that helped,' the star says in the movie, according to PageSix.

'So I am quieter. But throughout my career, people know there were tough times.' 

Faye Dunaway, 83, has bipolar disorder. The diagnosis was revealed in the Oscar-winning star's new documentary titled Faye which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. Seen on Wednesday

The star, who was an A list actress in the 1960s and 1970s with hits such as Bonnie & Clyde and Chinatown as well as The Thomas Crown Affair and Network (pictured), has for decades been called difficult

The movie directed by Laurent Bouzereau from HBO Documentary Films. The film includes interviews with Sharon Stone and Mickey Rourke.

'I don't mean to make an excuse about it, I am still responsible for my actions,' Dunaway also said in her film.

'But this is what I came to understand, was the reason for them. It's something you need to be aware of, you need to try to do the right thing to take care of it.'

Dunaway seems to have accepted living with her mental disorder.

'It's a sensitivity and it's something that is just a part of my makeup,' she shared in the film.

'Thank God there is medication and there are studies, and there are doctors who deal with this and I've been able to benefit from that. Medication is crucial and without it, you fall back into what is there psychologically and biologically.'

Her son, Liam Dunaway O'Neill, 43, appears in the documentary as well.

'If she wasn't in so much pain, would she have been that good? You have to take the good with the bad, that's just life,' he said.

'I worked with a group of doctors who analyzed my behavior, who gave me prescriptions for pills they thought would be good for me. And that helped,' the star says in the movie, according to PageSix. Seen in 1969

Bonnie And Clyde with Warren Beatty and Dunaway in 1967; Jane Fonda was up for her role but didn't get it as the director wanted Faye

The Thomas Crown Affair with Steve McQueen in 1968

Chinatown with Jack Nicholson in 1974. Faye discussed working with Roman Polanski on his classic Chinatown. He became annoyed when her real hair kept popping through her wig and ruining the scenes, and eventually the director wanted to yank her hair out

'She started out as a normal person wanting to be famous, and ended up as a famous person wanting to be normal.'

Dunaway made her first public appearance in four years at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

She walked the red carpet at the premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Also in the documentary she talks about almost not being cast in Bonnie & Clyde, as Jane Fonda was up for the role.

Warren Beatty also wanted to work with his very own girlfriend at the time. 

But the director insisted Faye get the lead.

And Faye discussed working with Roman Polanski on his classic Chinatown.

He became annoyed when her real hair kept popping through her wig and ruining the scenes, and eventually the director wanted to yank her hair out.

Dunaway ran to her trailer but was later coaxed out when she was told she could wear a hat.

Indeed, in the movie she wears a very stylish hat as she shoots a scene with jack Nicholson. 

In 1981 her career nosedive after portraying Joan Crawford as an abusive mother so successfully, fans started to believe Faye was abusive too or at least too much like Crawford to be comfortable with.

The movie has gone on to become a camp classic. 

In the 1990s, Dunaway made a cameo in the Pierce Brosnan version of The Thomas Crown Affair, and she was seen in Gia with Angelina Jolie, but her career slowed down.

Also in the new documentary that infamous Tonight Show clip was shared.

Johnny Carson asks Bette Davis if there was any co-star she couldn’t stand.

'Yes. Faye Dunaway,' Davis immediately answered. 'And you can ask anyone else and they will tell you the same thing!'

Johnny Carson asked Bette Davis if there was any co-star she couldn’t stand. 'Yes. Faye Dunaway,' Davis answered.

They had worked on a TV movie together on The Disappearance of Aimee in 1976. 

Dunaway doesn’t address Davis' mean remarks.

Dunaway began her career in the early 1960s as a Broadway actress, appearing in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons and Arthur Miller’s After the Fall.

She was taught by method acting pioneer Elia Kazan at his Lincoln Center Repertory Company and is regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation.

In 1967, she landed her breakthrough role as Bonnie Parker in Arthur Penn’s biographical crime drama, Bonnie And Clyde.

While the film was controversial upon its release due to its portrayal of intense violence, Dunaway was nonetheless propelled to stardom.

(L-R) Laurent Bouzereau, Dunaway, Liam Dunaway O'Neill and McKinzie Roth attend the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga premiere at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 15

She followed it up with a role in Norman Jewison’s The Thomas Crown Affair in 1968, for which she was once again praised.

Problems began to present themselves in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Dunaway starred in a series of unsuccessful films including A Place for Lovers, The Extraordinary Seamen and The Arrangement.

Her performance in Roman Polanski's Chinatown thrust her back into the spotlight in 1974, garnering critical praise including an Oscar nomination for best actress.

Dunaway landed the award just a few years later, after delivering a much-lauded performance in Network.

Next, she will work with Harvey Keitel and Andrew McCarthy in an upcoming movie titled Fate for director Jonathan Baker.

'There is an excellent chance it will stand as one of the most memorable love stories of our time,' Baker, who is also a producer on the movie, told Deadline Monday.

The film is described as 'a suspenseful, supernatural romance' by the outlet, which noted it will hit the international market at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival through the company Highland Film Group.

She has been married twice; to rocker Peter Wolf from 1974 until 1979 and to Terry O'Neill from 1983 until 1987.