Jill Clayburgh, Actress in ‘An Unmarried Woman,’ Dies at 66

Jill Clayburgh died Friday at her Connecticut home at the age of 66. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

Jill Clayburgh, an Oscar Award-nominated actress who appeared in numerous plays, television shows, and movies, died Friday in her home, according to the New York Times. She was 66.

Clayburgh suffered from chronic lymphocytic leukemia for the past 21 years, her husband told AP. She passed away at her home in Lakeville, Connecticut.

She was best known for playing a recently-divorced woman in the 1978 film An Unmarried Woman, in which she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe. The next year, she was nominated for an Academy Award in the film Starting Over.

Before her death, Clayburgh completed filming of Love and Other Drugs, which also stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. The comedy, Clayburgh’s last film, will be released later this month.

“I think part of her sickness is what made her live her life ... and really cherish the moments she had and cherish the people she was with,” Gyllenhaal told the Associated Press. “And she did when she was with us, cherish those moments, and they made us all love her.”

Gyllenhaal said that he didn’t know that she was sick when he was working on the film with her in September 2009.

“She left an indelible impression on me,” he added.