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Acadian actress Viola Léger hospitalized after suffering stroke

Acadian actress Viola Léger hospitalized after suffering stroke

Acadian actress Viola Léger, best known for her iconic role of La Sagouine, is hospitalized after suffering a stroke late last month that affected her memory and sight.

Léger, 86, and her family have requested privacy, according to a news release issued on Thursday.

She has also withdrawn from public life, it states.

Up until last summer, Léger had continued to play the famous role of a humble Acadian cleaning woman on stage each summer at Le Pays de la Sagouine in Bouctouche.

She performed the role for more than 3,000 times for more than four decades.

Léger was presented with a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2013, the Order of New Brunswick in 2007 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1989.

She served in the Senate from 2001 to 2006.