Bunny Levine, the veteran actress recognized by audiences for appearances in Gilmore Girls, La La Land and other screen projects, has died. She was 97. Levine died on Thursday, August 20.
The actress died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Tarzana, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, according to NBCLA.
NBC reported that officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were called to Levine’s residence following a report of an “unresponsive person.” Police told the outlet that her death “appeared to be from natural causes.”
Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Levine for comment but has not yet received a response.
Before finding her way into the entertainment industry, Levine spent more than two decades working as a school librarian, a career she held before turning more fully toward acting.
Her professional acting career began in the late 1980s and continued for decades, bringing her a long list of television and film credits.
Bunny Levine, known for roles in projects including Gilmore Girls and La La Land, died at the age of 97 on Thursday, August 20; pictured in 2024
Levine was born on December 22, 1928, in East Orange, New Jersey.
Her interest for acting and performing began at an early age, per her official IMDB page.
She often took on roles in both local and school productions, and had initially majored in Theater Arts in college before switching to a different degree.
Following graduation, Levine put her focus into raising her children with her husband Bernard and worked as a librarian for 25 years.
The late star retired early and stepped back into her passion for acting, where she began taking acting classes as well as going to auditions.
After the passing of her husband in 2003, Levine notably relocated from New York to Los Angeles as she started booking acting gigs in commercials and other projects, per IMDB.
Her first professional acting credit was the 1988 horror comedy titled Slime City.
She was then cast in the 1990 movie Cadillac Man and appeared in episodes of As The World Turns and Law & Order in the late 90s.
Her professional acting career began in the late 80s and led to her starring in numerous television and film projects for decades; seen above on Gilmore Girls
She often took on roles in both local and school productions, and had initially majored in Theater Arts in college before switching to a different degree; Levine seen above with Adam Sandler
Her acting career continued in the 2000s and she appeared in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in 2004.
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.
She also appeared in an episode of Community in 2008 as well as two episodes of Criminal Minds.
The late actress additionally played characters in films such as In My Sleep (2010) and Let Go (2011) which had also starred comedian Kevin Hart.
In 2014, she appeared with the late James Van Der Beek in an episode of the series Friends With Better Lives
Levine worked alongside Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs in two episodes of the sitcom 2 Broke Girls.
Other notable TV projects she starred in are Raising Hope, Southland, The Middle and New Girl.
Levine worked alongside Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs in two episodes of the sitcom 2 Broke Girls; seen above bottom right on 2 Broke Girls
In 2014, she appeared with the late James Van Der Beek in an episode of the series Friends With Better Lives (seen above)
In 2016, she appeared in an episode of The Mindy Project with Mindy Kaling.
That same year, she took on the role of a movie theater cashier in the film La La Land.
The film, which had 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 Awards nominations and won six, including Best Actress for Stone as well as Best Director for Damien Chazelle.
