Famed actress and director Penny Marshall passed away on Monday at the age of 75 her publicist revealed in a statement on Tuesday.
Her death was caused by complications from diabetes.
Marshall shot to fame on the series Laverne & Shirley before going on to direct hit films including Big and A League of Their Own.
‘Our family is heartbroken over the passing of Penny Marshall,’ her family said in a statement.
‘Penny was a tomboy who loved sports, doing puzzles of any kind, drinking milk and Pepsi together and being with her family.’
She is survived by her daughter Tracy and five grandchildren.
Marshall had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010 which metastasized to her brain, but announced in 2012 that she was in remission.
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Icon: Penny Marshall (above) passed away at her Hollywood Hills home on Monday night according to TMZ
Marshall, pictured in Laverne and Shirley in the late 1970s, left, and at Saturday Night Live in 2015, right
One of the gals: Marshall shot to fame with her role on Laverne & Shirley before going on to direct the hit films including Big, Awakenings and A League of Their Own (Marshall above with Cindy Williams on Laverne & Shirley in 1979)
The Marshalls: Her passing comes two years after the death of her famed brother Garry Marshall (above in 2011), who created Happy Days
Marshall’s death comes a little over two years after the passing of her brother, Garry Marshall.
Garry was the creator of Happy Days, the show that eventually spawned the spin-off Laverne & Shirley.
She was born in the Bronx in 1943, appearing in commercials and on television shows in guest spots throughout her youth.
She gave up any aspirations of a career in Hollywood however after marrying Michael Henry, a football player she met while attending the University of New Mexico.
Marshall left school at the age of 19 and soon after gave birth to her daughter Tracy.
She then began working as a secretary and taught tap dance to support her new family, but at the age of 22 she found herself divorced and raising Tracy as a single mother.
It was at the age of 27 that she got her big break thanks to her role on The Odd Couple.
Marshall became a series regular on the show in 1971, which was produced by her big brother.
That was the same year she married her second husband, director Rob Reiner. He would go on to adopt Tracy.
‘I loved Penny. I grew up with her. She was born with a great gift. She was born with a funnybone and the instinct of how to use it. I was very lucky to have lived with her and her funnybone. I will miss her,’ wrote Reiner on Twitter.
Marshall would later appear in five episodes of Happy Days, which would lead to her role on Laverne & Shirley.
That show ran for eight seasons, and when its run ended Marshall made the move to behind the camera.
Marshall was nominated for three Golden Globes for her performance as working girl Laverne DeFazio.
Young love: Marshall married Rob reiner at the age of 27 but the two later divorced (pair above in the early 1970s)
Mother and daughters: marshall is survived by her daughter Tracey (above in the early 90s)
Courtside constant: Marshall was often seen courtside watching the Los Angeles Lakers (above in 2002 with Williams)
She directed just seven movies over the course of her lifetime, but it is an impressive list, beginning with Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
The film, starring Whoopi Goldberg, was plagued with problems before Marshall came on, but despite negative reviews it proved to be a moderate success at the box office and earned $30 million.
Marshall then made history with her sophomore effort, becoming the first female director to break the $100 million mark at the box office with the film Big.
That film made $151 million on an $18 million budget and earned Tom Hanks his first Best Actor nomination.
Marshall’s next film, Awakenings, was nominated for three Oscars including Best Picture.
Her streak of hits continued with the 1992 film A League of their Own, which featured an all-star cast that included Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna.
That film also featured her good friend Hanks, and earned Madonna a Golden Globe nomination for the song This Used to Be My Playground.
O’Donnell wrote on Twitter that she was ‘simply heartbroken.’
Davis also paid tribute to the director, writing: ‘I’m terribly sad to hear the news about Penny passing. My heart goes out to Tracy Reiner and her family. Penny brought so much joy to so many and will be sorely missed. I will be forever grateful to her for letting me be a part of A League of Their Own.’
Marshall later served as a producer when executives tried to turn the movie inot a television series, a gamble that did not work in the end.
Big deal: With Big, Mashall became the first director to have a film gross over $100 million at the box office
Critical acclaim: Marshall’s third feature, the 1990 film Awakenings, was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awartds (above woith stars Robert De Niro and Robin Williams)
Icon: Marshall helmed one of the great sports films of all time, A League of Their Own (above on set with Geena Davis and Lori Petty)
Singing her praise: Marshall on the set of The Preacher’s Wife with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston
Her fifth film was Renaissance Man, a comedy starring Danny DeVito that was the first and only one of her films that proved to be both a critical and box office flop.
‘Penny Marshall was a sweet woman. I was very fortunate to spend time with her. So many laughs. She had a heart of gold. Tough as nails. She could play round ball with the best of them. Always All love,’ wrote DeVito on Twitter after learning the news.
That movie also featured the film debut of Mark Wahlberg, who on Tuesday wrote: ‘Rest in peace, Penny. Such a wonderful, funny and talented lady. Without her support and encouragement, I would not be where I am today. She will be missed.’
She quickly followed that film up with The Preacher’s Wife, starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington.
The film received mostly positive reviews and made a respectable $50 million at the box office.
Her seventh and final film was Riding in Cars with Boys, starring Drew Barrymore and the late Brittany Murphy.
It received mixed reviews and broke even at the box office.
After that Marshall produced two films, Cinderella Man and Bewitched, and made the occasional television appearance.
She also directed an episode if The United States of Tara, the Showtime series that starred Toni Collette and Brie Larson, in 2011.
She was still very much in the spotlight however, and could often be seen courtside watching her beloved Los Angeles Lakers.
And her love of basketball is why Marhsall was selected by Dennis Rodman to produce a documentary about his life that is set for release next year.
Marshall first met the Chicago Bulls star when he was dating Madonna.