'70s screen icon Penelope Milford has passed away at the age of 77 in Saugerties, New York, following an incredible career in film, TV and theatre. She died on October 14 in an assisted living facility, as confirmed by her brother, Doug Milford, with her cause of death currently unknown to the public. The brunette beauty was best known for her role in Coming Home, the 1978 film which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
She co-starred alongside Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern in the film, which won three Oscars, including Best Actress and Actor for Jane and Jon, respectively, and Best Screenplay. In the landmark film, Penelope played Vi Munson, whose brother returns home from his deployment in Vietnam after just two weeks with severe emotional damage.
She sadly lost out at the Oscars to Maggie Smith for her role in California Suite, yet the star continued to act throughout the '80s and '90s in a slew of notable roles. The St. Louis native made her screen debut as an extra in Maidstone in 1970, before starring in an off-Broadway production of Long Time Coming and a Long Time Gone in 1971 alongside Richard Gere, whom she was rumored to have dated for several years.
Penelope later landed a Drama Desk nomination in 1975 for her turn in Shenandoah, a musical adapted from the 1965 film of the same name. The musical follows a Virginian farmer trying to stay neutral during the Civil War, until his youngest son is taken by Union soldiers.
Penelope had quite the resumé, having also starred in Man of a Swing (1974), Valentino (1977), The Last Word (1979), Take This Job and Shove It (1981), Heathers (1988), and Cold Justice (1991). She also starred in a number of made-for-TV films, including Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris (1980), The Oldest Living Graduate (1980), Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story (1982) and The Burning Bed (1984), the latter of which scored a Golden Globe Award.
Penelope branched out into the art world in the '80s and ran a gallery in Los Angeles in the latter half of the decade, before teaching film acting in Chicago and Minneapolis in the '90s. She was briefly married to American poet Michael Lally from 1982 to 1984.
The Oscar nominee moved to Saugerties, New York, in 2003 to remodel a historic home and became interested in preservation. She is survived by her brother, Doug Milford, and her sister, Candace Saint.
Her other brother, Richard Kim Milford, was also a theatre legend and starred as Rocky in the original production of The Rocky Horror Show. The musical went on to inspire the cult classic 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show starring Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. Richard died in 1988 from heart failure.