Veteran character actress Bunny Levine, best known for her roles in Gilmore Girls and La La Land, has died at the age of 97.
The late star passed away in her sleep at her home in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, August 20, local television station NBCLA reported.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to Levine's residence following a report of an unresponsive person, according to NBC. Officers told the outlet that her death appeared to be from natural causes.
Daily Mail reached out to a representative for Levine for comment but has yet to receive a response.
Early life and librarian career
Levine was born on December 22, 1928, in the city of East Orange, New Jersey. Her interest in acting and performing began at an early age, according to her official IMDB page, leading her to take on roles in both local and school productions.
She initially majored in Theater Arts in college before switching to a different degree. Following graduation, Levine focused on raising her children alongside her husband, Bernard, and worked as a librarian for 25 years.
After taking early retirement, Levine returned to her passion for acting by enrolling in acting classes and attending auditions. She previously reflected on her delayed performing career during an interview with Mel Magazine.
"Acting is always what I wanted to do, but it wasn't practical," Levine told Mel Magazine. "I don't know if you've seen a picture of me, but I wasn't a good young leading lady."
"I'm short and a little character-y. I wasn't ugly, but I wasn't beautiful either, so acting just wasn't practical," she added.
Move to Los Angeles and television success
Following the passing of her husband Bernard in 2003, Levine relocated from New York to Los Angeles as she began booking acting roles in television commercials and other screen projects, per IMDB.
Her professional acting career originally launched in the late 1980s. Her first professional acting credit was in the 1988 horror comedy film Slime City. She was then cast in the 1990 movie Cadillac Man, and later appeared in episodes of daytime soap As The World Turns and legal drama Law & Order in the late 1990s.
Levine's acting career continued into the 2000s, landing a notable role in a 2004 episode of Everybody Loves Raymond as a friend of Raymond's mother.
"That was the first bigger thing I did in Los Angeles," Levine told Mel Magazine of her role in Everybody Loves Raymond. "In that, I was a friend of Raymond's mother, and me and a couple of other older women kept dropping things to admire Ray Romano's rear end."
"I never really thought that much about it, but I guess, in retrospect, after that I kept getting a lot of those roles," Levine said.
That same year, she portrayed the character of Mrs. Thompson on the hit series Gilmore Girls. Levine continued to take on roles in a number of television projects, including Ugly Betty, Private Practice, and General Hospital: Night Shift.
Film roles and Academy Award success
Levine also appeared in an episode of Community in 2008 as well as two episodes of Criminal Minds. Her feature film credits during this era included roles in In My Sleep in 2010 and the 2011 movie Let Go, which also starred comedian Kevin Hart.
In 2014, she appeared alongside the late James Van Der Beek in an episode of the series Friends With Better Lives. Levine also worked alongside Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs in two episodes of the sitcom 2 Broke Girls.
Other notable television projects she starred in include Raising Hope, Southland, The Middle, and New Girl. In 2016, she appeared in an episode of The Mindy Project alongside creator and star Mindy Kaling.
That same year, Levine took on the role of a movie theater cashier in the film La La Land. The movie, which also starred Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, was a box office and critical success upon its release in theaters. La La Land received 14 Academy Award nominations and won six, including Best Actress for Stone and Best Director for Damien Chazelle.
Later roles and final acting credits
Levine's career continued as she landed more guest roles in shows and feature films. In 2021, she played Mrs. McCurdy in the series Shameless, which also starred Emmy Rossum, William H. Macy, and Jeremy Allen White.
Three years later, the star worked alongside Jane Squibb in the 2024 comedic drama film Thelma.
Her acting credits continued through 2026, including the movie The Cure as well as the short film Achiever.
