Penny Marshall, the filmmaker and actress, has died at the age of 75. Her publicist Michelle Bega confirmed the death to the New York Daily News, saying, “She passed away from complications from diabetes,†and that it happened “peacefully at her Hollywood Hills home.†Marshall, the sister of famed filmmaker Garry Marshall, rose to fame in the 1970s as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne & Shirley, which successfully ran for eight years. During that time, Marshall directed a handful of the show’s episodes, foreshadowing her second act as a popular director. She had hits with films like Awakenings and The Preacher’s Wife, but is perhaps best known behind the camera for A League of Their Own and the blockbuster smash that was her second feature, Big. That 1988 film earned Tom Hanks his first Oscar nomination, and it made Marshall the first woman in Hollywood history to direct a movie that grossed more than $100 million. She hadn’t directed a film since 2001’s Riding in Cars With Boys, but still acted semi-regularly into her 70s. In a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times, her family said, “Our family is heartbroken over the passing of Penny Marshall.â€
After news Marshall’s death broke, many of those in Hollywood who worked with her or admired her work from afar posted tributes to Marshall and her work.