Debbie Reynolds, Entertainment Icon, Dead at 84

Debbie Reynolds died of a broken heart.

While nothing is official yet, sources report that Reynolds suffered a stroke, one of many she's suffered during 2016, the most recent of which came on the heels of the death of her beloved daughter, Carrie Fisher, just a day ago.

According to reports, Reynolds admitted she missed her daughter so much she wished she could be with her just 15 minutes prior to the stroke that ended her life.

It's difficult to imagine a more tragic ending to a live that otherwise appeared to joyous.

Reynolds first burst into the movies with an uncredited role in a movie titled June Bride in 1948.

Stardom, though, was only a dance step away, because she got the role of a lifetime when she appeared in Singin' In the Rain with Donald O'Connor and Gene Kelly in 1952.

By 1969, Reynolds had her own television show, The Debbie Reynolds Show, on which she played a character named Debbie Thompson.

Reynolds took a break from acting between the early 1970s and 1980s, returning to television to appear on a lot of series in guest starring roles. Some of them include Alice, The Love Boat, Hotel, Wings and Roseanne. 

She also appeared in a large array of movies made for television. Some of the more memorable of those include the Halloweentown series about a family of witches. They were delightful.

More recently, Reynolds has been voicing characters on Rugrats and Kim Possible.

Reynolds her famously divorced husband Eddie Fisher in 1959 after he had an affair with Elizabeth Taylor. She did go on to marry two more times, once in 1960 and another in 1984.

Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie, were, and will remain, Hollywood Royalty.

Their roles in both movies and television will remain in our hearts and minds for all time.

Reynolds' roles in Rain, Tammy and the Bachelor and her Oscar-Winning performance in The Unsinkable Molly Brown will probably never be overtaken as that of mother, the role she held most dear.

It was losing Carrie, a pain we all felt in some measure, that broke her heart and through which she found herself too fragile to survive. 

Reynolds is survived by her son, Todd Fisher, and her granddaughter, Billie Lourd.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.