Cindy Williams, best known for roles in American Graffiti and Laverne and Shirley has died at age 75, following a battle with illness.
The actress had a distinguished career, with her starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, as well as George Lucas’s directorial debut American Graffiti. Her role as Shirley in the Happy Days spin-off was undoubtedly the role most synonymous with her.
Her children issued a statement, via a spokesperson, to the Associated Press confirming the passing of their mother.
The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed. Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.
Williams was born in Los Angeles in the summer of 1947, before being raised for the most part in Dallas, Texas. A performer since she was a child, her first major role came in the comedy series Room 222 in 1969. Following some recognition for her role in the horror film The Killing Kind, she was cast in the coming-of-age comedy American Graffiti as Laurie Henderson.
Lucas’s close friend Coppola then cast Williams in his mystery thriller The Conversation, in which she starred alongside Gene Hackman and Harrison Ford. Despite her young career, by 1974 she had already starred in two different films with Ford.
Williams had been married to singer Bill Hudson for eighteen years until their divorce in 2000. The couple had two children, Emily and Zachary. The 75-year-old had mostly retired from acting since 2018, with her limiting public appearances. Her last major credit came in the 2015 remake of The Odd Couple.