Susan Saint James, 'Kate & Allie' Star, Dies at 80
Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress best known for the television series McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, has died at the age of 80, her representative confirmed to PEOPLE.
A death confirmed on Monday
Her representative told PEOPLE that Saint James died on Monday, 26 October, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, USA TODAY reported. The Associated Press also reported the pancreatic cancer diagnosis, according to Men's Journal.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, her family remembered her as someone who was "generous with her time and energy, which she valued more than money, and instinctively drawn to whoever needed lifting up." The family added: "She never met a stranger. Every person she met became the most important person in the room at that moment, from a fellow board member to the clerk at the shoe store."
An Emmy at 23
Saint James was born Susan Jane Miller in Los Angeles in 1946 and grew up in Rockford, Illinois, Parade reported. After modelling in New York, she moved to Hollywood in her early twenties. Her breakthrough came as Peggy Maxwell on NBC's The Name of the Game, which ran from 1968 to 1971. The role earned her the 1969 Emmy for outstanding continued performance by an actress in a supporting role, one of eight Emmy nominations across her career, USA TODAY reported.
In 1971 she joined Rock Hudson in McMillan & Wife, playing Sally McMillan, the wife of Hudson's San Francisco police commissioner, for five seasons, Parade reported. Her film work included Outlaw Blues, Love at First Bite and How to Beat the High Cost of Living.
Kate, Allie and a life beyond Hollywood
Her best-known role came in the CBS sitcom Kate & Allie, which ran from 1984 to 1989, in which she played Kate McArdle opposite Jane Curtin as Allie Lowell, Geo News reported. When the series ended, she stepped away from regular acting to spend more time with her family, returning only occasionally for guest roles including The Drew Carey Show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Suits.
Her family's statement recalled her courage after tragedy: weeks after losing her youngest son, Teddy, in a plane crash on 28 November 2004, when he was 14, she delivered his eulogy as a note to each of her other children and her husband. "Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first," the family said. In later years she ran a baby-gift business and volunteered with the Special Olympics, Mathrubhumi reported.
She is survived by her husband, former NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol, her four children — Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, Charlie Ebersol and Willie Ebersol — seven grandchildren, her sister Mary Mercedes Dewey and her service dog, Lola, PEOPLE reported.
Sources: PEOPLE, 27 October 2026; USA TODAY, 27 October 2026; Parade, 27 October 2026; Associated Press via Men's Journal, 27 October 2026.