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Day was known by her fans and peers to live a private life at her home in California. Her passion was her organization, The Doris Day Animal Foundation (ddaf.org), which she founded in 1978.

Photos: Notable people who died in 2019

\"Originally Doris went out and did all of the rescues herself. That's how it all started,\" her business manager and longtime friend, Bob Bashara, told \"GMA\" in April. \"She'd pick any animal up on the street and bring it home. She can't do that anymore [because] she's 97. But she's so interested in her foundation and how it's helping animals.\"

\"PHOTO:
George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images
PHOTO: Doris Day starred in the movie, "Pillow Talk" with Rock Hudson.
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In 2017, one day before Day would celebrate what she thought was her 93rd birthday, The Associated Press revealed that the \"Calamity Jane\" star was actually 95 -- a surprise to Day herself, who always thought she was born in 1924, making her two years younger.

\"PHOTO:
NBC via Getty Images
PHOTO: Actress Doris Day is pictured in a undated portrait.
>

The AP obtained a copy of Day's birth certificate, which states that Doris Mary Kappelhoff, her birth name, was born on April 3, 1922. Her parents were Alma and William Kappelhoff of Cincinnati.

Day's publicist, Charley Cullen Walters, previously told ABC News that it's possible that Day had written her age incorrectly on an audition form when she was young.

\"PHOTO:
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
PHOTO: American actress and singer Doris Day sits on a fence in front of a house with her son, Terry.
>

“I’ve always said that age is just a number and I have never paid much attention to birthdays, but it’s great to finally know how old I really am!\" Day said in a statement regarding the mix-up.

Bashara said Day may have changed her age at the request of the studio she was working for at the time.

\"PHOTO:
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
PHOTO: Doris Day with mutt co-star Hobo on the set of director Charles Walters's film, "Please Don't Eat the Daisies."
>

\"Otherwise, Doris never pays much attention to age,\" Bashara said.

Each year, Day would celebrate her birthday to benefit the Doris Day Animal Foundation. In 2019, 60th anniversary screening of the 1959 film,\"Pillow Talk,\" in which Day co-starred with Rock Hudson, also took place.

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