Woody Allen's second wife, Louise Lasser, has sadly died at the age of 87. The TV star, who was best known as the Hollywood director's first leading lady, passed away from natural causes at her home in Manhattan, New York, on Monday (July 7), according to reports. The actress is still known for portraying the title character on the television satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Louise made her acting debut in the Japanese spy thriller by lending her voice to the heroine Suki Yaki. The couple met back in 1962 while on a double date with different partners. But their connection was obvious from the start, with Woody going on to cast her in his TV pilot, The Laughmakers. They soon began dating and tied the knot in 1966.

It didn't take long for her to make it onto the big screen when she portrayed her husband's love interest in the 1969 film Take the Money and Run and the 1971 comedy Bananas. Years on, fans are still talking about her leading role in the groundbreaking TV series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, which ran for one year in 1976.

The show was a low-key but cutting parody of soap operas, targeting American consumerism as serial dramas grew in popularity across the pond. In a 2013 interview for Interview magazine, Louise reflected on her time on the show, gushing: "I always thought it was a really good show because it touched so many aspects of everything.

"It's sort of up and down and in and out, and before you know it, there you are. and then it itched such rich subjects, do you know what I mean? People always say it's way ahead of its time. I never thought it was ahead of its time. I always thought it was of its time."

In 2014, the star made several guest appearances on the TV series Girls, in which she played a Manhattan artist. Director Lena Dunham described Lasser at the time as a "favourite actress of mine". She told the press: "She was amazing. She and Jemima [Kirke] had a really funny, strange chemistry.

"You get to see an older person appreciate Jessa's character in a way that maybe her friends don't." More recently, she was seen in Requiem for a Dream and Queenie in Love.

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