Face of the Day

Actress Loni Anderson, who won acclaim for her US television sitcom role as the brainy, glamorous radio station receptionist defying workplace sexual stereotypes on WKRP in Cincinnati, has died aged 79.

Anderson, also remembered for her much-publicized storybook marriage to actor Burt Reynolds in 1988 and their tabloid-fixated divorce six years later, died at a Los Angeles hospital “following an acute prolonged illness,” her family said.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” the family said in a statement, adding that she was surrounded by loved ones.

RNZ