Elizabeth Franz, who was best known for her role as Mia Bass in Gilmore Girls, has died at the age of 84 after a battle with cancer, her husband has confirmed
Elizabeth Franz has passed away at the age of 84.
The actress’s husband, screenwriter Christopher Pelham, confirmed she died on 4 November following a cancer battle. Elizabeth, who first graced the stage in 1967, secured a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
The performer initially worked as a secretary until she had saved sufficient funds to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Following her graduation, she featured in numerous theatrical productions alongside television roles.
Most memorably, she portrayed Mia Bass in Gilmore Girls – the Independence Inn proprietor who served as a maternal figure and guide to Lorelai (Lauren Graham) after her escape to Stars Hollow.
On the theatrical stage, Elizabeth appeared in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead, plus productions of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors and Dickens’ Great Expectations, reports the Mirror.
In 1999, she took on the role of Linda Loman in the 50th anniversary staging of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. This performance earned her the Tony Award.
Miller himself lauded her portrayal, stating she had accomplished what numerous other actresses had failed to achieve.
He remarked: “[Elizabeth] has discovered in the role the basic underlying powerful protectiveness, which comes out as fury, and that in the past, in every performance I know of, was simply washed out.”
Elizabeth reprised the same role a year later in a Showtime production, which bagged her an Emmy nomination.
On other screen appearances, she portrayed Alma Rudder on Another World and Helen Wendall on As the World Turns. She also starred as Bev Scheel in Christmas with the Kranks.
Following her passing, fans have been pouring tributes to the actress on X. One fan wrote: “Such a beautiful woman RIP Elizabeth.”
Another expressed that she would be “forever in our hearts”.
An X user posted: “#RIP Elizabeth Franz. She injected fire and intimacy into her turn as Linda Loman opposite Brian Dennehy in ‘Death of a Salesman.'”.
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