The actress, who played Susan Bradford on the hit U.S. TV series, fell on hard times and now lives in a mobile home at a Wagontown, Pennsylvania campground.
She tells the National Enquirer, “There’s always something wrong with it. It’s frigid inside most days. The water hasn’t been working, so I can’t make coffee, and the floor is rotting around me. I desperately need a new trailer, but I can’t afford it. It’s really embarrassing to say, but I’ve never been in such dire straits.”
The 60 year old, who is diabetic, reveals most of her financial issues started when she fell ill several years ago.
She explains, “I had a series of mini-strokes. Then I discovered I had a rare disorder that made my esophagus go spastic.”
The condition caused Richardson to frequently regurgitate stomach bile, which eroded all her teeth and prevented her from eating, prompting her to lose more than 60 pounds (27 kilograms).
She’s since tried to get back on her feet by fashioning walking canes out of tree branches to make a little income, but she’s optimistic she’ll be earning some royalties from the show soon.
She adds, “We’ve just gone into DVD sales for Eight Is Enough, so I’m hoping to get a little money from that.”
