BELOVED television icon Mary Tyler Moore has died aged 80 after facing health battles in recent years.

The actress starred in two of the best-loved TV shows of all time, The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The six-time Emmy Award winner was earlier reported to be in a grave condition at a Connecticut hospital Tuesday as loved ones have rushed to her side.

The actress had been battling diabetes for years and family members had feared she would not make it, TMZ reported overnight. Her representative Mara Buxbaum confirmed news of her death to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine,” Buxbaum said in a statement.

“A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile.”

Moore first shot to fame as perky suburban housewife Laura in The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran for five seasons from 1961, but it was her role in her own eponymous sitcom during the 1970s for which she’s best remembered.

Playing a single, female news producer in a TV newsroom, Tyler Moore became a feminist icon: The show was the first to feature a never-married, independent career woman as its central character.

She also successfully transitioned to film, receiving a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her work in the 1980 drama Ordinary People, in which she played a grieving mother unable to cope with the death of her son. That same year, Tyler Moore’s only child, son Richard, died of an accidental gunshot wound to the head while handling a shotgun.

But it was her iconic 1970s role as a TV news producer that influenced a generation of viewers. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was truly groundbreaking, introducing issues such as equal pay for women, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality into a standard sitcom format.

It was also, at its heart, extremely funny. Just watch this scene, ‘Chuckles the clown’s funeral’, in which Tyler Moore’s character struggles to contain her laughter at the very serious funeral of a very funny man:

Tyler Moore’s influence on a generation of young women cannot be overstated. Twenty years after the final episode of the groundbreaking sitcom aired, Tyler Moore was able to elicit this reaction from Queen of TV herself Oprah Winfrey when she surprised her on air:

Mary Tyler Moore surprising Oprah will always be a favourite moment pic.twitter.com/JWrOav1XgB — Jordan (@JordanApps) January 25, 2017

Tyler Moore’s health problems were well-documented: she battled alcoholism and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes early in the run of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, becoming a tireless diabetes advocate. In 2011, she underwent elective brain surgery to remove a benign meningioma and in recent years retreated from the spotlight as her condition reportedly deteriorated.

In 2014 friends reported that she has heart and kidney problems and was almost blind. Speaking to Larry King in 2015, her former co-star Dick Van Dyke said “[Diabetes] has taken a toll on her; she’s not well at all.”

Tyler Moore is survived by her third husband, Robert Levine, who she wed in 1983. Her Hollywood friends - and those who were influenced by her - today pay tribute to the TV icon:

Mary Tyler Moore changed the world for all women. I send my love to her family. — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 25, 2017

RIP beautiful, upbeat, shining, glorious, wonderful, iconic Mary Tyler Moore. — Andy Cohen (@Andy) January 25, 2017

I'm deep in regret about the passing of Mary Tyler Moore. What an actress. What a woman. What a person. Always gracious, filled w/good humor — Dan Rather (@DanRather) January 25, 2017

Rehearsing on the #MaryTylerMoore stage today. A minute's silence as we remembered 1 of the true greats of TV comedy pic.twitter.com/UFHIkvWg3i — Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) January 25, 2017

She turned the world on with her smile. RIP, Mary Tyler Moore. You were a role model in so many ways. — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 25, 2017

#marytylermoore my heart goes out to you and your family. Know that I love you and believe in your strength. — Ed Asner (@TheOnlyEdAsner) January 25, 2017

Mary(MTM) was a gem. She was iconic, my boss, cast mate and a friend and I will miss her — Michael Keaton (@MichaelKeaton) January 25, 2017

#MaryTylerMoore was a dear friend and a truly great person. A fighter. Rest in peace, MTM. — Larry King (@kingsthings) January 25, 2017

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