Actress, director and producer Penny Marshall has died at the age of 75.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Marshall “died peacefully on Monday night in her Hollywood Hills home due to complications from diabetes.”
“Our family is heartbroken over the passing of Penny Marshall,” the Marshall family said in a statement.
Marshall rose to prominence in the 1970s for her role as brewery worker Laverne DeFazio on the television sitcom “Laverne & Shirley” alongside Cindy Williams’ Shirley Feeney.
She later directed cult-classic films such as “Big” and “A League of Their Own.”
With “Big,” Marshall became the first female director in Hollywood history to direct a movie that grossed more than $100 million. From there, she went on to direct the aforementioned “A League of Their Own,” “Awakenings,” “Renaissance Man,” “The Preacher’s Wife” and “Riding in Cars with Boys.”
In addition to her thriving directing career, Marshall still appeared in film and on TV herself, both in person and with voiceovers. She appeared in a special episode of the rebooted CBS series “The Odd Couple” dedicated to her late brother, Garry Marshall, and acted as narrator on his final film, “Mother’s Day.” She also had cameos in TV shows like “Taxi,” “The Simpsons,” “Entourage,” “Sam & Cat” and the film “Hocus Pocus.”
Marshall’s final documentary, “Rodman,” about NBA star Dennis Rodman, is currently in post-production and is scheduled for release Sept. 1, 2019.
She is survived by her sister Ronny, daughter Tracy Reiner and three grandchildren, Spencer, Bella and Viva.
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