Denise Nickerson As 'Willy Wonka's Doomed And Bratty Violet Beauregarde

By | October 18, 2018

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Denise Nickerson, who died in 2019, will always be remembered as Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), but her performance as the doomed brat wasn't her first nor her last acting gig. Like so many other child actors, Denise Nickerson was initially on the fast track to stardom at the beginning of her acting career. She appeared on TV shows in the late 60’s including the long-running drama The Doctors. She was also cast on a television pilot called Rome Sweet Rome with Bill Bixby that never went anywhere.

Denise Nickerson Was Most Famous For 'Willy Wonka'

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DENISE NICKERSON DARK SHADOWS - November 27, 1968. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)

Nickerson gained greater notice for her talent after joining the cast of the television soap opera Dark Shadows. Nickerson appeared in 71 episodes of Dark Shadows between 1968 and 1970, playing Amy Jennings, Nora Collins and Amy Collins. After appearing in this hit, daytime soap opera, she was recognized for her acting talent.

Denise Nickerson portrayed Violet Beauregarde, the obnoxious and precocious gum-chewing girl in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, in 1971. Violet, like the other children in the epic film, had landed an invitation to tour Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory.