Elizabeth Hoffman Dies: ‘Sisters’ Star Was 97

Elizabeth Hoffman, best known for starring in NBC’s Sisters in the ’90s (pictured above), died at the age of 97.

The veteran actress passed away on August 21 in her home in Malibu, according to her son Chris (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Hoffman was born on February 8, 1926, and started out in theater before her first onscreen role came via Little House of the Prairie; she appeared in three episodes of the series from 1980 to 1981. She also appeared in the film Fear No Evil in 1981. In the years following her episodes of Little House on the Prairie, Hoffman appeared on shows such as The Greatest American Hero, The Winds of War, The A-Team, Cutter to Houston, Blue Thunder, and Hunter. Her other TV roles included L.A. Law, War and Remembrance, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Matlock, and thirtysomething, leading up to the aforementioned NBC series. Hoffman played Eleanor Roosevelt in two miniseries, The Winds of War in 1983 and War and Remembrance, which aired from 1988 to 1989. 

On Sisters, Hoffman starred as Beatrice “Bea” Reed Ventnor, the mother of four daughters played by Swoosie Kurtz, Sela Ward, Patricia Kalember, and Julianne Phillips (pictured below). Hoffman’s Bea was in 87 episodes of the series, which ran six seasons from 1991 to 1996 and focused on her daughters taking care of her when she used alcohol to cope with the death of her husband. The show followed the triumphs, tribulations, and tragedies of those daughters and their families in Winnetka, Illinois. Her last onscreen credit came in two episodes of Stargate SG-1 in 1997 and 1998.

Alice S. Hall / NBC / Everett Collection

Hoffman’s film roles included Nuts, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!, Born on the Fourth of July, the TV movies Do You Remember Love, Elvis and Me, and The Great Pretender, The River Wild, and Dante’s Peak.

Hoffman is survived by her sons Chris and Paul and her grandchildren Erica, Alison, Lauren, and Lily.