Academy Award Winner Jill Clayburgh falls to cancer

Academy Award Winner Jill Clayburgh falls to cancer

Jill Clayburgh, whose Broadway and Hollywood acting career stretched through the decades, highlighted by her Oscar-nominated portrayal of a divorcee exploring her sexuality in the 1978 film "An Unmarried Woman," died Friday. She was 66.

Her husband, Tony Award-winning playwright David Rabe, said she died after a 21-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She was surrounded by her family and brother when she died at her home in Lakeville, Conn., he said.Jill Clayburgh, whose Broadway and Hollywood acting career stretched through the decades, highlighted by her Oscar-nominated portrayal of a divorcee exploring her sexuality in the 1978 film "An Unmarried Woman," died Friday. She was 66.

Her husband, Tony Award-winning playwright David Rabe, said she died after a 21-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She was surrounded by her family and brother when she died at her home in Lakeville, Conn., he said.

With Gene Wilder in "Silver Streak."

Jill Clayburgh's was born on April 30, 1944 in New York City. In the late 1960s Jill Clayburgh had featured roles in a number of Broadway productions including THE ROTHSCHILDS and PIPPIN. Jill Clayburgh's first major film role was in PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT in 1972. In 1978, Jill Clayburgh rose to screen prominence with her performance in AN UNMARRIED WOMAN for which she received an Oscar nomination. Jill Clayburgh was nominated again for the Academy Award in 1979 for her role in STARTING OVER. Putting her career on hold to raise a family, Clayburgh was little-seen for several years, but has recently become more visible, in telefilms and such features as WHISPERS IN THE DARK (1992), RICH IN LOVE (1993), and NAKED IN NEW YORK (1994).

Jill Clayburgh in "Running with Scizzors"

Jill Clayburgh's other notable credits include...

NEVER AGAIN (2001)

FOOLS RUSH IN (1997)

RICH IN LOVE (1993)

WHISPER IN THE DARK (1992)

WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? (1986)

IT'S MY TURN (1980)

THE TERMINAL MAN (1974)

THE WEDDING PARTY (1969)