Remembering Loni Anderson: From ‘WKRP’ to Hollywood glamour

Loni Anderson, beloved TV star and 'WKRP in Cincinnati' icon, has died at 79. Her legacy spans decades of screen roles and pop culture fame. ...read more

Share Via

Copy Link

1 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

Loni Anderson, best known for her role as the confident receptionist at a struggling radio station on the hit sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, has died just shy of her 80th birthday, at a hospital in Los Angeles following a prolonged illness.(Chris Carlson/AP)

2 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

Anderson’s roots trace back to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she was born on August 5, 1945, to an environmental chemist father and mother who was a model.(Richard Shotwell/AP)

3 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

Anderson began her acting career with a small role in the 1966 film "Nevada Smith," but found her footing on television in the 1970s, later starring in sitcoms and TV movies after "WKRP in Cincinnati."(Richard Shotwell/AP)

4 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

“WKRP in Cincinnati” aired from 1978 to 1982, and Anderson played the role of a blonde, high-heeled receptionist at a struggling Ohio radio station, who routinely deflected unwanted business calls for her boss, and often kept the station running at the face of others' incompetence. (Pinterest)

5 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

Her performance brought her critical acclaim, including two Emmy and three Golden Globe nominations.(Pinterest)

6 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

Loni Anderson attending the 17th Costume Designers Guild Awards with Burt Reynolds at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2015. The pair starred together in the 1983 comedy Stroker Ace, tying the knot later, and became the it-couple for tabloids, before their messy 1994 split.(Chris Pizzello/AP)

7 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

In her 1995 memoir “My Life in High Heels", Anderson reflected on her turbulent marriage, calling it a story of survival and growth. “I think if you’re going to write about yourself, you have to do it warts and all,” Anderson told, in an interview with AP. “You may not even tell the nicest things about yourself, because you’re telling the truth.”(Chris Pizzello/AP)

8 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

“I think back to the beginning of our relationship, it was so, oh, gosh, tabloidy. We were just a spectacle all the time. And it was hard to have a relationship in that atmosphere. And somehow, we did it through many ups and downs," Anderson told AP.(Pinterest)

9 / 9

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Aug 04, 2025 07:24 AM IST

Anderson is survived by her fourth husband, Bob Flick; her daughter Deidra and son-in-law Charlie Hoffman; her son Quinton Anderson Reynolds; grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman; stepson Adam Flick and his wife Helene; and step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.(Pinterest)