Beloved 80s icon and TV star Loni Anderson, and ex-wife of actor Burt Reynolds, has passed away at 79, just days before her 80th birthday.

Anderson, who played an empowered receptionist at the struggling AM radio station in the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati, was formally married to star Burt Reynolds, with the two having a high-profile relationship from the mid-80s to mid 90s.

Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a “prolonged” illness, her longtime publicist, Cheryl J Kagan, said, confirming the news.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.

WKRP in Cincinnati aired from 1978 to 1982 and was set in a lagging Ohio radio station trying to reinvent itself with rock music.

Anderson’s role was

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