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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
James Brinsford

Valerie Harper dead: Star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show dies aged 80

Valerie Harper, star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and spin-off Rhoda, has died aged 80.

Her family have confirmed that the actress passed away at 10.06am on Friday.

The cause of death has yet to be disclosed but it has been reported that she was battling cancer among a number of health issues.

It has been reported that she had leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, cancer cells in the membrane of her brain, as well as lung cancer.

Harper's husband, Tony Cacciotti, said in July that doctors advised that the actress, who was suffering from brain cancer, be placed in hospice care.

Valerie Harper in 2017 (Getty Images)

The same month, a family friend set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of her medical care.

It stated that it was to assist Harper with her daily “unrelenting medical costs” and within it's first week, had raised over $40,000 (£32,900).

Valerie was also a star on Broadway (Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag)

Harper rose to fame for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s.

She then had her own spin-off sitcom, called Rhoda, following on at the end of the decade.

Valerie beaming in 2016 (Getty Images)

Harper won four Emmys and a Golden Globe for her work in those shows and later returned to TV as the lead role in the sitcom Valerie.

The show only last two seasons before Harper quit after a contract dispute.

Mary Tyler Moore (foreground) and Valerie Harper as Mary and Rhoda in the Mary Tyler Moore Show, circa 1970 (Bettmann Archive)

She made a surprising comeback after the 2013 diagnosis,which had given her only months to live.

Just seven months later she competed on the Dancing With the Stars show and in 2015 made an appearance on the sitcom 2 Broke Girls.

Valerie in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Bettmann Archive)

She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut in the musical Take Me Along in 1959.

Since 2009, Harper campaigned for cancer research and took on occasional acting and voice-over jobs as recently as 2019.

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