TV Legend Mary Tyler Moore Dies at 80

-By Soraya Joseph

TV icon Mary Tyler Moore passed away today (January 25), as confirmed by her rep. Prior to her death, the 80-year-old actress was hospitalized in Connecticut. Her rep, Mara Buxbaum, released the following statement:

“Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine. A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile.”

Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Los Angeles, Moore garnered world wide fame when she starred in the 1960's sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. By the 70s, she would star in her own show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which portrayed her as one of the first onscreen faces of the feminism movement, thanks to her fictional character, TV producer "Mary Richards." Moore was one of the first women to play a 30-something, successful career woman who'd never been married, on television.

Although the cause of death has yet to be confirmed, Moore was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 47 years prior, and in her later years, suffered from blindness as a result of her illness. After losing her only son in 1980, the late actress is survived by her husband, Robert Levine.

Our condolences to her family during this difficult time. RIP Mary Tyler Moore.

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