Piper Laurie, best known for her chilling portrayal of the religious mother in ‘Carrie‘ and for playing the girlfriend of Paul Newman in “The Hustler,” has died at the age of 91, her manager Marion Rosenberg announced.
Laurie passed away in the early hours of Saturday in Los Angeles, her manager confirmed. The cause of death was not disclosed. Laurie will be remembered as “one of the finest actresses of her generation and a splendid human being,” Rosenberg stated.
Born as Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit in 1932, she took on the name Piper Laurie at the request of a manager when she began her professional acting career, as she wrote in her memoir, “Learning to Live Out Loud.”
After signing a contract with Universal-International (now Universal Studios) at age 17, Laurie starred alongside actors such as Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Ronald Reagan.
