Shelley Smith, model, actor, family therapist and Hatch Fertility founder, died on August 8 at age 70.Photo:American Broadcasting Companies via Getty
American Broadcasting Companies via Getty
Shelley Smith, an actress and former model, has died at age 70.
Her health had been deteriorating for the past year, Maguire said in avideohe shared on Facebook following her death.
“My dear, sweet angel [Shelley] Smith passed peacefully yesterday at 2:20 p.m.,” he wrote in the caption of the August 9 post. “Her children, Nicky and Miranda Nathan and I were at her side and holding her hand and kissing her head and singing to her and telling her how much we loved her.”
Former model and actress Shelley Smith in 1979, the year she appeared on sitcom ‘The Associates’ alongside a young Martin Short.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Born in Princeton, New Jersey on Oct. 25, 1952, Smith went on tograduate from Connecticut Collegein 1969.
Smith made a name for herself as a model in the 1970s, appearing in magazines likeVogue,MademoiselleandGlamour, and gracing the cover ofHarper’s Bazaar, according toVariety.
In 1979, she pivoted to a career in acting, notably appearing onMartin Short-led sitcomThe Associates. Despite its short 13-episode run — it was canceled after a year — the seriesearned nodsat both the Golden Globes and Primetime Emmy Awards.
Smith also nabbed a lead role on military dramaFor Love and Honor, which aired from 1983 to 1984. For the rest of the decade, sheappeared sporadically on showsincludingSimon & Simon,Fantasy Island,Magnum, P.I.andThe Love Boat.
Shelley Smith on ‘The Associates,’ a sitcom that ended after a 13-episode run in 1979.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
The actress also frequented — or, in her husband’s words, “somehow managed to get on” — several iconic game shows includingBody Language,Super Password, andDick Clark-hostedThe $10,000 Pyramid, perVariety.
“She helped people win money onThe $25,000 Pyramid. She was so proud of that,” he said in her death announcement, adding that his late wife was “so quick and witty and funny.”
After retiring from acting, Smith went back to school to earn a master’s degree in psychology from Antioch University, which she used to become a marriage and family therapist in California, perThe Hollywood Reporter.
Shelley Smith in 1979.Robin Platzer/Images/Getty
Robin Platzer/Images/Getty
He added: “It was so sweet and she loved every time.”
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The egg donor fertilization company shared its owntributeto its founder following her death.
“The world of fertility and our Hatch family mourns the loss of Shelley Smith, a titan in the industry and the beloved founder of The Egg Donor Program and The Surrogacy Program - now known as Hatch,” the post reads. “A trailblazer, Shelley founded the world’s first egg donor program and was at the forefront of surrogacy initiatives.”
Even after selling Hatch “just a few years ago,” Smith continued to provide her therapy services online, according to her husband.
“She loved helping people,” Maguire said. “Most of all, she helped me. She made me a much better person than I ever would have been.”
“We were so in love and it just got stronger and stronger right up until the moment she passed,” he said through tears. “I’m devastated and broken.”
source: people.com
