CNN
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Lisa Rowling, the first actress to play Wednesday Addams on the sitcom The Addams Family, has died at the age of 64.
Rowling “died Saturday surrounded by family,” longtime agent Chris Carbaugh told CNN in a statement Monday.
“She brought to life one of the most iconic characters in Hollywood history that is still celebrated today,” Carbaugh said. I loved meeting you.”
The former child star is a mother and grandmother, her agent added:
Rowling’s friend Laurie Jacobson also reported her death on Facebook, stating that she “suffered a massive stroke caused by smoking and high blood pressure.”

“She was on life support for three days. Yesterday her family made the difficult decision to remove it and she passed away last night,” Jacobson wrote. “She is embedded in the tapestry of her pop culture, and she will always be in our hearts as Wednesday Addams.”
Following the news of her passing, fans took to social media to pay their respects, with one person writing on Twitter:
Rowling was the blueprint for the pale pigtailed Wednesday after her 1964 appearance in the sitcom The Addams Family. She took on the role when she was six years old and played a character who was obsessed with her death until the show ended her two years. later.
In 1977, she appeared as Wednesday Sr. in the television movie Halloween with the New Addams Family.
Rowling’s cast of deadpan characters based on the New Yorker cartoon by Charles Addams includes Christina Ricci, who starred Wednesday in the 1991 hit film The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values. It paved the way for other actresses.”
Following the premiere of Tim Burton’s Netflix comedy horror Wednesday, Jenna Ortega said her version of the pop culture icon was also inspired by Rowling.
“I paid tribute to Lisa Rowling, the first Wednesday Addams. I did a little bit of the shuffle she does,” Ortega said when she appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in December. told to
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rowling was born Lisa Ann Desines in the Marshall Islands and was given her stage name when she began modeling at the age of three.
Following Wednesday’s stint on ‘The Addams Family,’ Rowling joined Phyllis Diller’s sitcom ‘The Pruitts of Southampton. She then made a recurring appearance playing cricketer Montgomery in ‘As the World Turns’.
Her acting credits also include the shows ‘The Girl From UNCLE’, ‘Fantasy Island’ and ‘Barnaby Jones’.