Award-Winning Actress Cloris Leachman Dies From Natural Causes At 94
Jan. 27 2021, Updated 5:19 p.m. ET
Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman has died at 94 years old. The Hollywood star passed away from natural causes on Tuesday, January 26, at her home in Encinitas, Calif, with her daughter, Dinah, by her side.
"It's been my privilege to work with Cloris Leachman, one of the most fearless actresses of our time. There was no one like Cloris. With a single look she had the ability to break your heart or make you laugh 'till the tears ran down your face," Juliet Green, Leachman's longtime manager, told ABC News. "You never knew what Cloris was going to say or do and that unpredictable quality was part of her unparalleled magic."
Leachman has been an Hollywood icon for decades, winning eight Emmys, in addition to being nominated 22 times — the most nominated actress in history.
The Iowa native’s career began in 1946 when she made her debut on the Actors Studio TV series.
From then on, Leachman had small roles on television, but she finally got her big break in the ‘70s when she played Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which then led to her own spin-off.
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Leachman later won two Emmys for her role, in addition to a Golden Globe for Best TV Actress for Phyllis.
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Leachman also starred on the big screen, most notably in movies such as The Last Picture Show, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and Young Frankenstein.
Leachman also starred in The Twilight Zone, Raising Hope, Spanglish and many others.
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With so many movies and television shows under her belt, which one stood out to her the most? "There's always one. And this one was The Woman Who Willed A Miracle. It was beautifully written. It was going to be on nighttime television but some executive from ABC said, 'Who wants to see this on nighttime TV?' So he put it on during the day instead. But we all won Emmys anyway. It was wonderful! That's the thing I'm most proud of," she said.
TMZ was the first to report the news about Leachman's death.