Jessica Walter, Arrested Development's Lucille Bluth, dies at 80

Jessica Walter
(Image credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Jessica Walter, the Emmy-winning actress best known for her work as Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, has died at 80.

Walter died at her New York City home on Wednesday, her daughter Brooke Bowman confirmed in a statement to Deadline.

"A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off," Bowman said. "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."

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Walter starred as the matriarch of the Bluth family on Arrested Development, earning Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and she also voiced Malory Archer on the animated series Archer. Her wide variety of other work included Clint Eastwood's 1971 film Play Misty for Me, and she won an Emmy in 1975 for Amy Prentiss. Walter also performed on stage, such as in a Broadway revival of Anything Goes.

Tributes immediately poured in for Walter on Thursday, with her Arrested Development co-star star Tony Hale writing, "She was a force, and her talent and timing were unmatched. Rest In Peace Mama Bluth."

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