Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) — Emmy-winning actress Jessica Walter died at her home in New York City on Wednesday, ABC Audio has confirmed. She was 80.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom Jessica,” her daughter, Brooke Bowman, said in a statement. “A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off.  While her legacy will live on through her body of work, she will also be remembered by many for her wit, class and overall joie de vivre.”

Walter’s career spanned decades — she won an Emmy in 1975 for her starring role in the police drama Amy Prentiss — but her talents were introduced to a new generation thanks to her role as boozy socialite and matriarch Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, and as dysfunctional mother and spy agency head Malory Archer in FXX’s hit animated series, Archer. 

About the former, Walter told ABC Audio in 2018, “Did I ever think I’d be sitting here 15 years later talking about it? No. But oh, it’s wonderful.”

Walter also starred in Clint Eastwood’s 1971 film directorial debut Play Misty for Me, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.  Other film roles included 1984’s The Flamingo Kid.

By Stephen Iervolino
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