Linda Lavin, Tony Award-winning actress and 'Alice' star, dies at 87

Tony Award-winning actress and singer Linda Lavin, best known for her role in TV sitcom "Alice," has died, her representative confirmed. She was 87.

Lavin died Sunday due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer, rep Michael Gagliardo said in a statement Monday to USA TODAY. She is survived by "the love of her life" Steve Bakunas, Gagliardo added.

The award-winning actress starred in the hit sitcom "Alice," which aired from 1976 to 1985. It follows working mom and aspiring singer Alice Hyatt as she raises her son and works at a diner.

Lavin had been performing since she was 5 years old, according to IMDb. In the early 1960s, she began looking for work in New Jersey and by 1969, after staring in numerous musicals and shows, she was nominated for a Tony.

The actress most recently appeared in three episodes of "No Good Deed," which premiered on Netflix Dec. 12, starring Linda Cardellini, Lisa Kudrow, O-T Fagbenle, Abbi Jacobson and more. She is set to star in two posthumous releases: the film "One Big Happy Family" premiering in January and the Hulu series "Mid-Century Modern" later in 2025.

After the "Alice" finale, Lavin began performing on the stage again. In 1987, she won a Tony award for her role in "Broadway Bound." In 1998, she was nominated for a Tony once again for her role in "The Diary of Anne Frank." Another nomination for the prestigious award came in 2000 for her role in "Tales of the Allergist Wife" and once again in 2010 for her performance in the revival of "Collected Stories," eight years after she appeared in the PBS-TV version of the play.

Lavin's long list of other TV credits include the 1970s-'80s ABC sitcom "Barney Miller," the 1998 NBC sitcom "Conrad Bloom," voice acting on the Cartoon Network series "Courage the Cowardly Dog," 2013-2014 NBC sitcom "Sean Saves the World" and the 2017-2018 CBS sitcom "9JKL."

She starred in "B Positive," a CBS sitcom from "Conrad Bloom" creator Marco Pennette, for two seasons, from 2020 to 2022.

She also had a hand in directing, including 10 episodes of "Alice," and executive produced a number of TV movies and docuseries episodes. In 1992, she executive produced and starred in the short-lived series "Room for Two" in which she played a TV producer.

She was married to Bakunas, her third husband, since 2005, and was married to actor and theater director Kip Niven from 1982 to 1992 and "Angels in America" actor Ron Leibman from 1969 to 1981. She had no children of her own, but was a stepparent to the children of her second and third husbands.

This story has been updated with additional information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Linda Lavin dead: 'Alice' actress, Broadway star was 87