Elmarie Wendel, best known for her memorable role as Mrs. Mamie Dubcek, the Solomon family's eccentric landlord, on 3rd Rock From The Sun, has passed away at the age of 89.
She starred on the NBC sitcom, which was centered around four aliens posing as a human family so they can observe how we behave, from 1996 to 2001.
It was Wendel's daughter, JC Wendel, that broke the news of her passing in a sweet tribute on Instagram.
She shared a photo of her mom alongside the rest of the show's cast, and captioned it with: "#ripelmariewendel you were a great mom and a badass dame."
The Iowa-born actress spent much of her childhood touring with her parents, who performed in clubs and concert venues in the Midwest. They even had gigs at the Grand Ole Opry.
When she got older, she decided to follow in her parents' footsteps and pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Her big break came while she was living in New York and booked roles in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions.
A few years later, a national touring company of the musical Annie whisked her to Los Angeles, and she successfully landed roles in television and film, including shows like Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Murder, She Wrote, General Hospital, NYPD Blue, and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.
In recent years, she lent her voice for The Lorax, the animated musical based on the Dr. Suess book of the same name. Her most recent recurring role was on George Lopez as Gina, an assembly line worker at an aviation factory, from 2003-2007.
Since her death was announced, Wendel's co-stars and fellow actors also took to social media to send their condolences and pay tribute to the talented actress.
"I've just heard from her daughter JC that my friend and colleague from 3rd ROCK FROM THE SUN, Elmarie Wendel, has died," wrote Jim Beaver, who played Happy Doug on the show. "She was raucous, funny, endearing, and terribly, terribly sweet. Goodnight, Mrs. Dubcek, wherever you are."
Another one of her co-stars, John Litghow, also expressed his sadness over Twitter.
"Oh dear. #ElmarieWendel is gone," he tweeted. "The #3rdRockFamily mourns the passing of our landlady #MrsDubcek."
Wayne Knight, who had the role of Officer Don Orville had some sweet words to say about Wendel.
"Just a note on the passing of Elmarie Wendel who was a funny, kind and kickass broad who I was lucky enough to befriend and will greatly miss," he wrote. "There will not be another like her."
No cause of death has been revealed by her family, and there haven't been any previous reports of her being ill.
Rest in peace, Elmaire Wendel. You will be missed by many.