Stanisława Celińska, the outstanding actress who spoke publicly about her struggle with addiction, has died at the age of 79. Her death was reported Tuesday afternoon.

Celińska had long been open about the cost of alcoholism in her life and the decision that changed it. She chose complete abstinence on 26 July 1988, when she was 41 years old, and later said she also avoided cosmetics made on the basis of alcohol.

Her own account of that period was rooted in private pain. She said her drinking began during a difficult stretch that brought a painful divorce, the death of her beloved mother and the challenge of raising two small children. At the time, she said, the burden was too heavy and she tried to escape from reality.

“Myślę, że tego było za dużo, a ja z moim przerostem ambicji chciałam być we wszystkim najlepsza. Nie dałam rady i zaczęłam uciekać od rzeczywistości,” she said, describing how she reached that point. She later said she regained control of her life thanks to divine help and that, after giving up alcohol, the world returned to her: walks, her children, animals and good food.

She also said the people closest to her never let her remain trapped in the past. “Dzieci wybaczyły mi i wciąż proszą, żebym przestała do tego wracać. Mówią: ‘Mamo, to tak dawno było’. Te słowa bardzo mi pomagają,” she said. In later years, Celińska said she wanted her story to serve as a warning to others, adding that no escape is good and that a person must face life directly and fight for themselves and their loved ones.

The death closes the life of a performer who was described as one of the outstanding actresses of her generation, but it also leaves behind a record of sobriety she maintained for decades. She remained in touch with her children and grandchildren, and her public candor made her recovery part of her legacy as much as her work on stage and screen.