Hmmmm....
"You knew here in a professional sense. I knew her ( peripherally, but in the flesh and up close and personal, with her in her underwear ) as she was when NOT working. And I saw her and sadly heard her, for YEARS."
This is true. However, when you spend a week or two on a set with someone, you usually get a pretty good picture of a person. The days can be long, and sometimes boring as hell while you wait for all the setting up. Tensions can get pretty twisted.
Try adding FX into the mix, and you get a real good idea how to separate the good people from the total schmucks.
I can only speak for what I saw. She certainly was a large presence while she was around, and unlike other actors I've been around, she treated everyone pretty well.
She's had a fairly interesting life. I would love to have been around the Industry during those times.