La La Land and Gilmore Girls actress Bunny Levine dies aged 97 at California home after 30-year Hollywood career

Showbiz LA La Land and Gilmore Girls star Bunny Levine has died at 97 after a 30-year Hollywood career. Levine died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Tarzana, California. La La Land and Gilmore Girls star Bunny Levine has died at 97 Credit: Getty Bunny (left) in an episode of Kickin’ It Credit: Getty Police said the star’s death “appeared to be from natural causes”. She was best known for iconic roles in Everybody Loves Raymond, Gilmore Girls, and Ugly Betty. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! In hit series Gilmore Girls she played Mrs Thompson. More recently she played a cashier in the Golden Globe winning 2016 film La La Land. Bunny dreamt of acting from a young age but put her dreams on hold. The actress found fame in her fifties after spending more than two decades working as a school librarian and after raising her three kids. Bunny took acting classes after retiring, and her first big role was in the 1988 horror-comedy Slime City. She then scored parts in the 1990 film Cadillac Man and started appearing on popular TV shows. Most read in Entertainment Bunny moved to LA and bagged roles shows including Law & Order and New Girl. Other film credits included You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, You Don’t Mess wit the Zohan, and Thelma. The star kept acting well into her nineties, appearing in projects released this year, including The Upshaws and The Cure. In 1991 the actress founded Actors Connection with her late husband Bernie. The studio honoured Bunny with an emotional statement on Instagram, writing: “Her fierce passion for championing actors helped launch countless careers and built a vibrant community dedicated to serving the artists she loved so deeply.” “Thank you, Bunny, for your vision, heart, and legacy.” Tributes flooded in to the actress, with one fan calling the star “a powerhouse”. Another wrote: “She was an amazing, kind, sweet person. She will be missed by many.” Comment now