“She will always be our dear Rosie.”
Will & Grace actor Shelley Morrison has passed away, aged 83.
Best known for her role as maid Rosario Salazar in the hit sitcom, Morrison’s career began in the mid-1960s when she starred in multiple US TV shows including The Flying Nun and Laredo.
Morrison was cast in Will & Grace in 1999.
She was originally only supposed to appear in one episode, however, her popularity with audiences meant that she starred in 68 instalments of the series until it first came to an end in 2006.
Debra Messing, who played Grace in the series, paid tribute to Morrison on Instagram on Monday.
“Oh, Shelley… what a loss,” she wrote.
“Our dear Rosario has passed on. Shelley had a career that spanned decades, but she will always be our dear Rosie. She was a kind soul with a huge heart and always had a smile on her face.”
Eric McCormack, who played Will, shared a photo of himself and Morrison, saying that she was “a beautiful soul and wonderful actor”.
“Her work as Rosario, season after season, was as nuanced and real as it was hysterical,” he said.
“She will be missed by everyone at #WillandGrace. She’s a huge part of it.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5jj1hiFxmj/
Fellow star Megan Mullally paid her respects to Morrison’s family and thanked the actor for her “friendship and partnership.”
“My heart is heavy,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Putting Shelley, her beloved husband Walter & their children in the light. Thank you for your friendship & partnership, Shell.
“You accomplished wonderful things in this world. You will be missed.”
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