NEWS'Growing Pains' Actress Betty McGuire Dies at Age 100 After Long Career, According to Family Friend
The star died at 100.
Oct. 19 2026, Published 6:21 p.m. ET
Veteran actress Betty McGuire, best known for playing Maggie Seaver’s mother, Kate Malone, on the hit ABC sitcom Growing Pains, has passed away at the age of 100.
McGuire died of natural causes on October 8 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif.
Her passing was confirmed to a publication by close family friend Keith Gerchak, an actor and co-founder of Double G Films.
McGuire leaves behind no surviving family members.
McGuire Portrayed Kate Malone on 'Growing Pains'
McGuire played beloved grandmother Kate Malone on 'Growing Pains.'
Between 1986 and 1991, McGuire made a memorable mark on television audiences through her recurring role on Growing Pains.
Appearing in 12 episodes across six of the show's seven seasons, she played opposite Gordon Jump, who portrayed her husband, Ed.
As the loving grandmother to the Seaver children, she shared the screen with stars, including Joanna Kerns and a young Leonardo DiCaprio, who appeared in more than 20 episodes during the sitcom's later years.
McGuire Began Her Career on the Broadway Stage
Born on March 20, 1926, in Bridgeport, Conn., McGuire built a remarkable performative foundation on the Broadway stage before transitioning to screen acting.
During the 1950s, she performed and understudied in the original Broadway productions of iconic musicals such as Plain and Fancy (1955-56), Happy Hunting (1956-57), and Oh, Captain! (1958).
Throughout these early theater years, she shared the stage with legendary performers including Ethel Merman, Barbara Cook, Bea Arthur and Tony Randall.
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McGuire Headlined Global Tours and Screen Classics
McGuire’s stage success expanded globally as she headlined as Mame at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and toured internationally in major productions like Gypsy, Oliver!, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and The Ziegfeld Follies of 1956.
Spanning seven decades, her career seamlessly extended into film and classic television, with screen credits in films like Up in Smoke, Coma, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and Wishmaster, as well as television appearances on shows such as Columbo, Charlie’s Angels, Hill Street Blues, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and ER.
McGuire Devoted Her Later Years to Advocacy and Broadcasting
Beyond her professional achievements, McGuire was dedicated to community service, volunteering for years as a receptionist and advocate for the Coalition for Economic Survival to support low-income tenants fighting eviction.
After moving to the MPTV retirement community in 2017, she continued her creative passion by producing and hosting GabFest, a local TV talk show celebrating the life stories of campus staff members, an endeavor highlighted in a 2019 NBC Nightly News feature where she famously reflected, “To have the chance to do new things and different things at 92, can you think of anything better? I can’t.”
