Florence Henderson, widely known for her role as The Brady Bunch matriarch Carol Brady, has died. She was 82.

Henderson died surrounded by friends and family, the actress’ manager Kayla Pressman said in a statement to the Associat...n Thursday.

Born in Dale, Indiana to farmer Joseph Henderson and his wife Elizabeth, Henderson was the youngest of 10 children.

After graduating from Indiana’s St. Frances School in 1951, Henderson went on to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. In January 1956, she married Ira Bernstein, whom she shared four children with —Barbara, Joseph, Bob and Elizabeth — but later divorced in 1985.

Henderson starred in every episode of all five seasons of the family comedy series, and later appeared as Carol Brady in spinoffs The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, The Brady Girls Get Married, The Brady Brides, The Bradys and The Brady Bunch Movie.

In 1987, Henderson wed Dr. John George Kappas, whom she remained married to up until his death in September 2002.

Other notable roles include The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, season 11 of Dancing with the Stars, and her hosting duties on Retirement Living TV’s The Florence Henderson Show from 2008 until her death. She earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.

The actress is survived by her four children.
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[Edited 11/24/16 22:42pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

Every kid wanted to be that lucky.

she wa great

You mean she was sexy.

She always seemed full of energy. R.I.P

Now she is with Mike and Alice

[Edited 11/25/16 14:46pm]

Great actress indeed.

Surprised this thread hasn't been stickied?

Florence Henderson was expected to 'bounce back' from illness

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Actress Florence Henderson dies at age 82

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On Monday, Florence Henderson attended the “Dancing with the Stars” finale and appeared in good health. Within days, she fell ill and then died suddenly on Thursday.

The “Brady Bunch” actress was 82, but her death comes as a surprise to those who have been tracking her movements in recent years. Henderson was frequently seen out and about, doing media interviews and making cameos at big events. In fact, her appearance at the “Dancing with the Stars” finale on Monday night was not the first time she showed up at the live show this season. She was in the audience earlier in the season to support her “Brady” co-star Maureen McCormick.

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Florence Henderson appears at the "Dancing with the Stars" finale on Nov. 21, 2016. (ABC/Eric McCandless)

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“She was quite active until she started not feeling well several days ago,” her publicist David Brokaw said, according to the New York Times. “It was felt that she would just bounce back from it.”

Quite active could be an understatement.

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Henderson recently began an endorsement deal with LG’s ProBake Convection ranges that included a series of commercials that she was promoting on her Twitter account as recently as September. In May, her new show "The Eleventh,” debuted on Hallmark’s subscription channel. She did interviews to promote the series, which also starred fellow icons Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman.

Henderson’s manager Kayla Pressman revealed the veteran actress suffered from heart failure.

The star’s heart had given her trouble in the past, and she had become an advocate for raising awareness about the heart issues that plague women.

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“I knew as a child that I had a heart murmur,” she told Fox News Magazine in February. “As I got older, I was experiencing more irregular heartbeats.”

The sitcom star revealed that about eight years ago she ended up in the emergency room, and she had heart surgery to repair a valve in her heart.

“I was fortunate that I could have a repair,” she reflected. “They repaired my valve instead of replacing it.”

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McCormick remembered her TV mom with a series of emotional Twitter posts on Friday. Co-star Barry Williams also expressed his sadness about Henderson’s death.

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Maureen McCormick ✔@MoMcCormick7

You are in my heart forever Florence

10:36 PM - 24 Nov 2016

• 3,5023,502 Retweets
• 11,05911,059 likes

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Barry Williams ✔@MrBarryWilliams

Deeply saddened. Florence was one of the most gracious people I have ever known, Proud to call her Mom and life long friend. #RIPFlorence

4:27 AM - 25 Nov 2016

• 633633 Retweets
• 1,5921,592 likes

Henderson is survived by her children; Barbara, Joseph, Robert and Lizzie, their respective spouses, and five grandchildren.

Florence Henderson was very much a renaissance woman, a pioneer in early TV., she did it all. Unlike so many men and women who did TV sitcoms of that era, she never appeared to constrained / pigeonholed by the role of Carole Brady. It appeared she'd continue having an entertainment career as long as she wished... a-lay Betty White. That wasn't meant to be.

Condolences to her family and friends. RIP Florence Henderson

Florence was a True Entertainer...She did it all...The older she got the More Gorgeous she got....I never knew she was the FIRST "today show" female personality...People always Praise Barbara Walters for being the first today show female anchor and they never mentioned that Florence was doing her thing first...

I never understood why Florence began hosting the today show years ago...I thought it was odd but that she did well...Now it makes sense..