Actress/model Shelley Smith has died at the age of 70. Smith, who was best known for her role on “For Love and Honor,” also co-starred with Martin Short on “The Associates” and regularly appeared on game shows, including “The $10,000 Pyramid.”
News of Smith’s passing was first shared on Facebook by her husband, Michael Maguire. The actress died on Tuesday at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital after suffering cardiac arrest three days earlier. He also noted that Smith’s children — Nicky, Miranda and Nathan — were all with her when she passed away.
Maguire said in part, “I don’t know how to go on without her. But I know that we had an incredible relationship and it was as pure as anything could be.”
Smith began her career as an actress when she was only seven years old. She made her television debut in the first and only season of 1979’s “The Associates.” In 1983, she joined the cast of “For Love and Honor” for one season before moving on to building a career as a celebrity guest on game shows.
Perhaps one of her biggest achievements off the camera came in 1991, when Smith founded The Egg Donor Program after her twins, Nicky and Miranda, were born via in-vitro fertilization. In an essay for Motherhood Later… Than Sooner, she shared, “Being pregnant, giving birth, every precious moment of raising your child is authentic. Egg donation is a non-issue. ”
Smith continued, “Go ahead and make the same triumphs and mistakes any parent experiences. I always complained that my twins were too much for me and not enough like their donor. Some say IVF offspring tend to be even more spoiled because their parents are so grateful to have them.”
Maguire also spoke about Smith’s decision to open The Egg Donor Program. He said, “When she wanted to have children and was having a hard time herself, she went through the process and discovered in-vitro fertilization and saw what was wrong with the industry … and started her own company.”
He concluded, “She helped thousands and thousands of people have babies. It was so sweet, and she got to relive her own struggles and help other people avoid those struggles. It was beautiful to watch.”
Watch Maguire’s entire announcement in the video above.
