Rue McClanahan, who was one of two remaining Golden Girls, died from a massive stroke Thursday at age 76, according to People.
The Golden Girl who played Blanche Deveraux on the wildly popular sitcom from 1985 to 1992 suffered a stroke earlier this year while recovering from bypass surgery.
"She passed away at 1 a.m. this morning," Rue's manager Barbara Lawrence told People. Lawrence also said that Rue "had her family with her. She went in peace."
An Oklahoma native, Rue began appearing on television in the 1970's on the daytime drama Another World. She went on to star in the benchmark button-pushing television show Maude, which starred her Golden Girls' costar Bea Arthur. Rue also appeared in Mama's Family, based on a Carol Burnett Show skit. She continued working as recently as in 2009 when she appeared in Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns, according to IMDB.
A champion for gay rights, McClanahan, White, Arthur and Getty frequently appeared at benefits for the gay community. In 2008, she starred in the first season of Sordid Lives for the gay network Logo.
Rue's death leaves Betty White -- who has been having a career resurgence -- as the last surviving Golden Girl. Bea died in from cancer just last year and Estelle Getty passed away in 2008.
Let's all sit down with a cheesecake in Rue's / Blanche's honor.
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