Levine died while sleeping at her California home on Thursday, Aug. 20
Credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Bunny Levine died at her California home on Thursday, Aug. 20
- The actress, known for TV shows including Ugly Betty, Criminal Minds and Shameless, was 97
- Levine earned master’s degrees from New York University and Columbia before transitioning from teaching to acting in the 1990s
Bunny Levine, the actress who appeared in Gilmore Girls, La La Land and Law & Order, has died. She was 97.
Levine died at home in Tarzana, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 20, The New York Times reported. She was peacefully sleeping at the time of her death, her representatives confirmed to NBC Los Angeles and The Hollywood Reporter.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said her death appeared to be from natural causes, according to NBC L.A.
Credit: Warner Bros
The actress born Bernice Levine in Orange, N.J., earned master’s degrees from New York University and Columbia University. She then worked as a school librarian and teacher for several years before retiring to pursue an acting career.
One of Levine’s first film roles was in 1990’s Cadillac Man, opposite Robin Williams and Tim Robbins, according to IMDb. Her early TV roles were in You Wrote It, You Watch It (1993) and Law & Order (1999).
In 1991, Levine and her husband Bernard S. Levine co-founded the Actors Connection in New York City, an organization helping actors launch their careers, according to a Facebook post.
The organization said in a statement after Levine’s death, “Actors Connection honors the life and contributions of Bunny Levine … Her passion for helping actors has launched countless careers. Thank you Bunny for creating such a vibrant community to serve the fellow artists you have always loved — may you rest in sweet peace!”
Credit: Clinton Wallace/Globe Photos/ZUMAP
Levine moved to Los Angeles following her husband’s death in 2003, per THR.
She appeared in several TV shows in the years afterward, including Ugly Betty (2007), Gilmore Girls (2004), Criminal Minds (2006-2010), 2 Broke Girls (2011), Raising Hope (2012-2013), New Girl (2014), Shameless (2021) and Sprung (2022).
The late actress also starred in the films La La Land (2016), with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, and the Adam Sandler films You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (2008) and Sandy Wexler (2017).
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Her last credited roles were in the 2026 film The Cure and short film Achiever, per IMDb.
Levine is survived by her children Marty, Francie and Joe and her grandchildren Robin and Jeffrey.
A memorial will be held for Levine at the Jewish Memorial Chapel in Clifton, N.J., on Thursday, Aug. 27.
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