Penny Marshall, the actress and director best known for "Laverne and Shirley," "A League of Their Own" and "Big," has died, her publicist confirmed to the New York Daily News. She was 75.
“Yes she did (die) … peacefully at her Hollywood Hills home,” publicist Michelle Bega said. “She passed away from complications from diabetes.”
"Our family is heartbroken over the passing of Penny Marshall," the Marshall family said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
Marshall rose to fame as Laverne DeFazio in the ABC sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” which aired from 1976 to 1983. She also directed four episodes of the sitcom from 1979 to 1981, later making her theatrical directorial director in 1986’s “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Although the film wasn’t successful, the next one, “Big,” made history. The 1988 Tom Hanks movie grossed more than $100 million -- the first for a female director.
Credit: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
Credit: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
Marshall went on to direct “A League of Their Own” in 1992 and “The Preacher's Wife” in 1996.
Tributes and remembrances poured in on Twitter soon after the news broke:
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