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'One Day at a Time' actress Bonnie Franklin dies

By Greg Botelho, CNN

Updated 11:30 AM ET, Thu March 7, 2013

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Bonnie Franklin's character Ann Romano "helped define and illuminate the role of single working mothers," CBS said,
Bonnie Franklin's character Ann Romano "helped define and illuminate the role of single working mothers," CBS said,

Story highlights

  • "Rest in peace," says Franklin's former co-star Mackenzie Phillips
  • California-born Bonnie Franklin made her TV debut at age 9
  • She earned a Tony nomination in 1970 for her role in the musical "Applause
  • Her best-known role is that of a single mom in the TV sitcom "One Day at a Time"
Actress Bonnie Franklin, a Tony Award nominee who played a single mom at the center of the hit TV sitcom "One Day at a Time," died Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer.
Franklin was 69.
The woman who played the youngest daughter of Franklin's character on the CBS show, Valerie Bertinelli, said her "heart is breaking" after hearing the news.
"Bonnie has always been one of the most important women in my life and was a second mother to me," Bertinelli said. "She taught me how to navigate this business and life itself with grace and humor, and to always be true to yourself.
"I will miss her terribly."