Mary Tyler Moore Show star Valerie Harper has passed away, as per to ABC7. She was 80.
The actress' family confirmed the sad news to the news outlet, revealing that she passed away at 10:06 a.m. on Friday, August 30th. However, the cause of death has not been immediately disclosed.
Back in 2009, Harper was diagnosed with lung cancer, but the actress beat the condition. Just a few years later, in 2013, the star was given three months to live after being diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. Still, she surpassed expectations and kept on with her life, particularly with a 2014 appearance as a castmate on Dancing With The Stars. In 2015, she spoke to PEOPLE about making peace with her diagnosis. "I'm ready. I’m ready to go," Harper admitted. "Maybe that's the secret. That I’m absolutely – I don’t want to, my God, I want to live to be 102, but I am not banking on anything, really, because we shouldn’t. We don't know what’s around the corner. I think you just take each day and get the best out of it and do what you can and have fun."
Harper shot to fame in the early 1970s for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and in the character's own spinoff series, Rhoda, which aired from 1974 to 1978. Later on, she stared in the 1980s sitcom, Valerie, which saw different titles as Valerie’s Family and The Hogan Family, once she left the show.
On Tuesday (July 23), Harper's husband, Tony Cacciotti, shared a note on his wife's official Facebook page about her current medical state, confessing that he did not want to follow doctors' orders and put her in a hospice. "I have been told by doctors to put Val in Hospice care and I can't [because of our 40 years of shared commitment to each other] and I won't because of the amazing good deeds she has graced us with while she's been here on earth," the note began. "We will continue going forward as long as the powers above allow us, I will do my very best in making Val as comfortable as possible."
Harper had turned 80 on August 22nd.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images