Florence Henderson, Star Of Brady Bunch, Has Died At Age 82

Thanksgiving was a great day for millions of people across the country, but friends and family of Florence Henderson probably wish they could have skipped Turkey Day.

The 82-year-old actress, who played Carol on The Brady Bunch, passed away on Thanksgiving after a brief stay in the hospital. It’s believed she died from heart failure. Henderson was already a successful actress before she landed the huge Brady Bunch role. She was an established Broadway star, and she was the first female guest host of The Tonight Show.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Henderson was surrounded by family and friends when she died. Sadly, this death was a shock to the family. She had been healthy, but then she became ill a few days ago and could not recover.

Her publicist confirmed her death, “She was quite active until she started not feeling well several days ago. It was felt that she would just bounce back from it.”

And for you young people out there who have no idea what The Brady Bunch is, you might remember seeing Henderson on the 11th season of Dancing With the Stars in 2010.

On Monday, she went back to the DWTS studio to support her former co-star/TV daughter Maureen McCormick in the season finale. She looked healthy while sitting and cheering for McCormick.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.