‘La La Land’ star, Bunny Levine breathes her last at 97

Bunny Levine, the veteran actress who appeared in Gilmore Girls, La La Land and a string of beloved television shows, has died aged 97.

The actress passed away in her sleep at her home in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, August 20, according to NBCLA.

The Los Angeles Police Department reportedly responded to Bunny's home after receiving a call about an "unresponsive person."

Police told the outlet that her death appeared to be from natural causes.

Bunny's death put a full stop to her remarkable second-act career in Hollywood, which began after she had already spent more than two decades working as a school librarian and raising her family.

She continued acting well into her 90s, with credits stretching from Everybody Loves Raymond to Criminal Minds, Shameless and the Oscar-winning La La Land.

In 2004, she appeared in Everybody Loves Raymond and also shot to stardom with a guest role in Gilmore Girls.

Bunny played Mrs. Thompson in the beloved series, which starred Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore.

Her acting career continued into 2026, with credits including The Cure and the short film Achiever, almost four decades after she landed her first professional screen role.

After spending 25 years working as a librarian, she had returned to the ambition she had first nurtured as a young woman and continued pursuing it for the rest of her life.

As Bunny Levine’s IMDb biography explains of the decision that ultimately led to her decades-long screen career, Bunny "retired early to pursue her lifelong passion for acting."