Loni Anderson died just days before her 80th birthday.
Cheryl J. Kagan, the actress’ longtime publicist, said she died at a Los Angeles hospital after a “prolonged” illness, according to the Associated Press.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother, and grandmother,” Anderson’s family wrote in a statement.
Anderson was best remembered for her role as Jennifer Marlowe in the CBS comedy WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran for four seasons from 1978 to 1982. She got three Golden Globe nods and two Emmy nominations for the show.
In 2021, the St. Paul, Minn., native talked about becoming a sex symbol on the show, which followed the follies of staff at a radio station in Ohio.
“I never imagined I’d be Loni Anderson, sex icon. “But I accept it,” she told Fox News. “I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to portray a variety of roles, including the sex symbol.
She said, “I accepted everything my job threw at me. So I embrace it.” And my granddaughters think it’s hilarious!”
After the show’s popularity and becoming a household name, she starred in the 1983 race car comedy Stroker Ace. During filming, she fell in love with co-star Burt Reynolds.
The couple became a Hollywood power couple and married in 1988 in a top-secret ceremony at Reynolds’ property in Jupiter, Fla., as reported by PEOPLE.
“I’m a very lucky man,” he declared during the celebration, which came after a 20-minute ceremony. “I’m surrounded by love and dear friends, and I married my best friend today.”
Anderson said, “I feel like Cinderella.” I married Prince Charming. They eventually adopted a son, Quinton.
Their strained relationship ended in divorce in 1994. Reynolds told PEOPLE in a candid 2015 interview that marrying Anderson in 1988 “was a really dumb move on my part.”
“I should have known that you don’t marry an actress,” he stated back then. “It wasn’t lollipops and roses.”
In his 2015 biography, But Enough About Me, Reynolds expanded on what drove the two apart. He writes of Anderson, “She purchased everything in triplicate, including daily outfits, jewels, crockery, and linens. ‘I never wear a dress after it has been photographed,’ she explained. ‘I need to dress like a celebrity.'”
He said, “I gave her a platinum American Express card with a credit limit of $45,000.” She maxed it out in half an hour.
Anderson discussed the divorce in a 1995 interview with SFGate, alleging Reynolds physically beat her at least a dozen times while under the influence of narcotics. “Burt always said no one would ever believe me because he was Mr. Wonderful and the world loved him,” she explained of the physical abuse.
She also accused him of not paying his $15,000 child support on schedule. According to TMZ, Reynolds did not finalize his divorce from Anderson until 2015, when he sent a $154,520 check.
Despite their strained relationship, Anderson paid tribute to her late ex-husband shortly after his passing in 2018, telling FOX News, “Quinton and I are extremely touched by the tremendous outpouring of love and support from friends and family around the world.” Burt was an excellent director and performer. He was an important part of my life for 12 years and Quinton’s father for 30. “We will miss him and his wonderful laugh.”
After their divorce, Anderson appeared in television programs such as Nurses, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and V.I.P. She also played Tori Spelling’s mother in the 2006 film So NoTORIous.
Anderson’s autobiography, My Life in Heels, published in 1995, recounted her relationship with Reynolds as well as her battles to keep her family together.
She got married four times. She married Bruce Hasselberg in 1964, and together they had a daughter, Deirdra. She and Hasselberg were divorced in 1966. She later married actor Ross Bickell from 1974 until 1981, followed by Reynolds. In 2008, she married musician Bob Flick.
Anderson is survived by her husband and two children.