Debbie Reynolds, star of Singin’ in the Rain and Carrie Fisher’s mother, dies at 84

Debbie Reynolds, best known for her roles in classic Hollywood musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, died Wednesday at the age of 84. Her death came just one day after the passing of her daughter, actress Carrie Fisher, who died Tuesday at the age of 60.

Reynolds had suffered a stroke on Wednesday and died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“She wanted to be with Carrie,” her son Todd Fisher told Variety.

Reynolds was a major star in the 1950s and ’60s with her breakthrough role coming in the 1950 film Three Little Words, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She received a Golden Globe nomination for the 1956 film Bundle of Joy and won the 1956 National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in The Catered Affair.

Reynolds earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Molly Brown in the 1964 film. She began starring in her own television show The Debbie Reynolds Show in 1969, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. She continued acting in the decades that followed, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the 1996 film Mother and an Emmy nomination for playing Grace’s mother Bobbi in Will & Grace. Reynolds was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in January 2015.

Reynolds lived next door to her daughter at the time of Fisher’s death. Their relationship is the subject of an already-completed HBO documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, which is set to air in March.

Video clip from “Bright Lights”, an already completed documentary about Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds, to be aired on HBO in Mar 2017. pic.twitter.com/D6sLBlHm2Z

— Ron Baalke (@RonBaalke) December 29, 2016

Reynolds was also a successful businesswoman, having operated her own hotel in Las Vegas. She also served as the president of The Thalians, an organization of entertainers raising awareness for mental health causes. She was the recipient of the Academy Awards Jen Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2016.

RadioClassics (Ch. 148) will honor Reynolds with an airing of her classic appearance on the Martin & Lewis Show followed by her appearance in a dramatic episode on the Family Theater. The special will be hosted by Greg Bell and premieres on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 10 p.m. ET with a replay airing on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

Reynolds is survived by her son Todd and granddaughter Billie Lourd.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Rooney, File