<p>The Emmy-winning actress who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series died on Thursday at 1 am, reported People magazine online.<br /><br />She had undergone treatment for breast cancer in 1997 and later lectured to cancer support groups on 'ageing gracefully.' In 2009, she had heart bypass surgery<br />Her most loved role came in 1985 when she co-starred with Arthur, Betty White and Estelle Getty in 'The Golden Girls', a runaway hit that broke the sitcom mould by focusing on four ageing and frequently eccentric women living together in Miami.<br /><br />White, who is enjoying a career renaissance with a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, is now the only surviving Golden Girl.Getty died in 2008 and Arthur passed away the following year.<br /><br />"Rue was a close and dear friend. I treasure our relationship. It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that's even possible," White, 88, said in a statement today.<br />McClanahan was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Oklahoma, to building contractor William McClanahan and his wife, Dreda Rheua-Nell, a beautician.<br /><br />Her acting career began on the stage and she won an Obie, the off-Broadway version of the Tony, in 1970 for 'Who's Happy Now', playing the 'other woman' in a family drama written by Oliver Hailey.<br /><br />She had appeared only sporadically on television until producer Norman Lear tapped her for a guest role on 'All in the Family' in 1971 and she went from there to a regular role in the spinoff 'Maude'<br /><br />McClanahan was married six times, Tom Bish, with whom she had a son, Mark Bish; actor Norman Hartweg; Peter D'Maio; Gus Fisher; and Tom Keel. She married husband Morrow Wilson on Christmas Day in 1997.She called her 2007 memoir 'My First Five Husbands ... And the Ones Who Got Away'.<br /></p>
<p>The Emmy-winning actress who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series died on Thursday at 1 am, reported People magazine online.<br /><br />She had undergone treatment for breast cancer in 1997 and later lectured to cancer support groups on 'ageing gracefully.' In 2009, she had heart bypass surgery<br />Her most loved role came in 1985 when she co-starred with Arthur, Betty White and Estelle Getty in 'The Golden Girls', a runaway hit that broke the sitcom mould by focusing on four ageing and frequently eccentric women living together in Miami.<br /><br />White, who is enjoying a career renaissance with a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, is now the only surviving Golden Girl.Getty died in 2008 and Arthur passed away the following year.<br /><br />"Rue was a close and dear friend. I treasure our relationship. It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that's even possible," White, 88, said in a statement today.<br />McClanahan was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Oklahoma, to building contractor William McClanahan and his wife, Dreda Rheua-Nell, a beautician.<br /><br />Her acting career began on the stage and she won an Obie, the off-Broadway version of the Tony, in 1970 for 'Who's Happy Now', playing the 'other woman' in a family drama written by Oliver Hailey.<br /><br />She had appeared only sporadically on television until producer Norman Lear tapped her for a guest role on 'All in the Family' in 1971 and she went from there to a regular role in the spinoff 'Maude'<br /><br />McClanahan was married six times, Tom Bish, with whom she had a son, Mark Bish; actor Norman Hartweg; Peter D'Maio; Gus Fisher; and Tom Keel. She married husband Morrow Wilson on Christmas Day in 1997.She called her 2007 memoir 'My First Five Husbands ... And the Ones Who Got Away'.<br /></p>
