Beloved Actress Mary Tyler Moore Dies At 80

Known for her giant grin and comedic ease, iconic actress Mary Tyler Moore died Jan. 25, 2017, at age 80, from complications associated with pneumonia, reported The New York Times. Moore had been battling assorted health issues, including diabetes, for years.

At the time of her death in a Connecticut hospital, she was "in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine," Moore's rep said in a statement (via CNN). "A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile."

Moore got her big break playing homemaker Laurie Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the '60s, but came into her own and broke new ground for women on the Mary Tyler Moore show in the '70s. She played Mary Richards, a single, 30-something professional at a Minneapolis TV station. "The series was hailed by feminists and fans alike as the first modern woman's sitcom," reported CNN.

Moore flexed her dramatic chops and earned an Oscar nomination in 1981 for her role as a grief-stricken, guilt-ridden mother in Robert Redford's Ordinary People. Redford summed up the actress' unique combination of attributes for Esquire (via Rolling Stone) in 1977: "She seemed at once positive, vivacious, vulnerable, attractive, independent, adventurous and feminine."

Moore embodied those adjectives throughout her life, continuing to break ground as she openly sought treatment for alcoholism, weathered high-profile divorces, absorbed the death of her son, battled diabetes, and even underwent brain surgery to remove a benign tumor. The actress had a knack for simple yet powerful quotes, and she seemingly summed up her life's work in these lines (via ABC News): "Whatever it is, it's OK because it's what it is. Don't be looking for perfection. Don't be short-tempered with yourself. And you'll be a whole lot nicer to be around with everyone else."