Penny Marshall, who rose to fame in the 1970s playing Laverne DeFazio in the hit TV show 'Laverne & Shirley' and later became an acclaimed movie director, has died at the age of 75.
Her publicist says Marshall died Monday from complications from diabetes at her home in California.
She introduced her iconic Laverne DeFazio character — with the signature script 'L' always featured on her shirt — on 'Happy Days' in 1975. A year later, the 'Happy Days' spinoff 'Laverne & Shirley' debuted.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Marshall stepped behind the camera to direct a string of hit movies, including Big, A League of Their Own and Awakenings.
Big, the 1988 film starring Tom Hanks, became the first movie directed by a woman to gross more than $100 million at the box office.