Linda Lavin, an award-winning actress known for her starring role on the popular sitcom “Alice,” has died. She was 87.

Lavin was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and died Sunday from complications of the disease, a representative told the Associated Press.

She had been active in the weeks before her death and made an appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of the Netflix series “No Good Deed,” in which she stars, earlier this month.

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Lavin seemed to know from a young age that she was destined to be an actress and moved to New York City after graduating from college. Her first big break came when she was cast in a Broadway musical called It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman.

She was nominated for a Tony for the first time in 1969 for her work in “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”

In the 1970s she moved to Los Angeles, where she began getting jobs as a television actress. She appeared in an episode of Rhoda and then landed a small recurring role on Barney Miller.

In 1976, she was chosen to star in a new CBS sitcom based on Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning waitress comedy Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

The title was shortened to “Alice” and Lavin became a role model for working mothers as Alice Hyatt, a widowed mother with a 12-year-old son who works at a roadside restaurant outside of Phoenix. The show, in which Lavin sang the theme song “There’s a New Girl in Town,” ran from 1976 to 1985.

The show made “Kiss my grits” a catchphrase and starred Polly Holliday as waitress Flo and Vic Tayback as the gruff owner and chef of Mel’s Diner.

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The series bounced around the CBS schedule for its first two seasons, but became a hit on Sunday nights in October 1977, leading to “All in the Family.” It was among the top 10 primetime shows in four of the next five seasons. Variety magazine named the film one of the best workplace comedies of all time.

When “Alice” ended, Lavin continued working in Hollywood but returned to Broadway for a while. In 1987, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress after appearing in Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound.

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In the years following her success with “Alice,” she took on several roles on stage, including a role in the 1990 musical “Gypsy.” Her last role there was in 2016’s “Our Mother’s Brief Affair.”

Lavin continued to work until her death. In addition to her work in No Good Deed, she appeared in an episode of Elsbeth this year. Last year she was a voice actress for an episode of Bob’s Burgers.

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She is survived by her husband, Steve Bakunas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.