BREAKING: WKRP star Loni Anderson dead at 79

She suffered from a prolonged illness and died in a Los Angeles hospital, said her publicist Cheryl J. Kagan. "We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother, and grandmother," read a statement from Anderson's family.

She is survived by her husband Bob Flick, as well as two children, two grandchildren, a step-son and two step-grandchildren, per The Hollywood Reporter.

The popular 1980s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati featured Anderson as a receptionist during its 1978-1982 prime time run. The show was about a struggling radio station for which Anderson played Jennifer Marlowe alongside a cast including Gary Sandy, Tim Reid, Howard Hesseman, Frank Bonner and Jan Smithers.

Anderson was nominated for two Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes for her work on the show. She was also in the film Stroker Ace alongside Burt Reynolds, whom she married.

The two divorced in 1994 after Reynolds served her with divorce papers and said she was cheating on him. She said he was abusive and addicted to painkillers. Their divorce was the subject of tabloids for years and was considered one of the worst divorces in Hollywood history.

Anderson also portrayed Jayne Mansfield in the television special The Jayne Mansfield Story. Arnold Schwarzenegger played her husband. In 1991, Anderson played Thelma Todd in White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd.

When she was first cast in WKRP in Cincinnati, she refused the role, demanding that it be written with more substance. "I went in and sat on my little soapbox and said, ‘I don’t want to play this part because she’s just here to deliver messages and is window dressing,’" she said during a 2020 interview.

"Then Hugh [Wilson] said, ‘Well, how would you do it?’ … He said, ‘Let’s make her look like Lana Turner and be the smartest person in the room.'" Anderson's Jennifer Marlowe embodied the "dumb blonde" stereotype but also broke it.

She was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to parents Klaydon, an environmental chemist, and mother Maxine, who was a model. She had her daughter Deidra with her first husband Bruce Hasselberg, who was the brother of a Miss Minnesota contestant against whom Anderson was competing.