Orange Is The New Black and Seinfeld actress Kathyn Kates has died aged 73 following a battle with cancer.
Her representatives at Headline Talent Agency confirmed the ‘incredibly brave and wise’ star died in Florida on Saturday January 22, in a statement provided to Deadline.
It is unclear what type of cancer Kates suffered from – the statement indicates that she had previously beat the disease before the cancer returned this past year.
The statement read: ‘Kathryn has been our client for many years, and we have grown much closer to her in this last year since she knew of her cancer returning.
‘She was always incredibly brave and wise and approached every role with the greatest of passion. She will be greatly missed,’.
A post on Headline’s Instagram page also read: ‘Our mighty @officialkathrynkates has passed away.
‘She will always be remembered and adored in our hearts as the powerful force of nature she was. She loved this craft and had enough patience to fill 10 ships. A true icon. We will miss you.’
Kates was born in New York City to Louis Kates and actress Madlyn Kates, who had a memorable line in Mel Brooks’ 1968 classic The Producers (‘I’m not a madame, I’m a concierge’).
Despite her New York roots, her career began in earnest in Los Angeles, where she was one of the 25 founding members of The Colony Theater, alongside John Larroquette.
She produced all of the company’s plays in the first six years from 1975 to 1981 along with Barbara Beckley.
She started venturing into television and movies in the early 1980s with small roles in the TV movie Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice, Jinxed and The Taming of the Shrew.
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