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25th Mar 2021

Arrested Development star Jessica Walter has died aged 80

Alan Loughnane

Jessica Walter

May she rest in peace.

Jessica Walter, the award-winning actress best known for portraying Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, has died aged 80.

She passed away in her sleep at home in New York City.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom Jessica,” her daughter, Fox TV programming executive Brooke Bowman, said in a statement. “A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off. While her legacy will live on through her body of work, she will also be remembered by many for her wit, class and overall joie de vivre.”

Walter was also providing the voice of Malory Archer on the FX’s long-running animated series Archer.

She began her acting career on stage in New York City before making the leap to film in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 directorial debut, Play Misty for Me. Walter would go on to appear in The Flamingo Kid and her Emmy-nominated turns on Trapper John M.D. and Streets of San Francisco.

In 1975, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in The NBC Mystery Movie.

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