Loni Anderson, Star of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati,’ Dies at 79 years

Her death, in a hospital, just days before her 80th birthday, was confirmed by Cheryl J. Kagan, her publicist, who cited an unspecified prolonged illness.

As a young woman, Ms. Anderson epitomized the American beauty standards of her time with her fresh face, dimples and big, sparkling eyes. She got her start in acting on television shows in the mid-1970s.

Loni Anderson, who played the platinum blonde receptionist on the TV sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” in the late 1970s and early ’80s and who later became a tabloid mainstay during her contentious divorce from the actor Burt Reynolds, died on Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 79.

Her role earned her three Golden Globe nominations as well as two Emmy nominations. She later appeared in two episodes of a sequel, “The New WKRP in Cincinnati,” which aired from 1991 to 1993.

Ms. Anderson’s seemingly ditsy, bombshell character was anything but, and her performance as Jennifer showed that looks and smarts could go together.

Her big break came in 1978, when she was cast as Jennifer Marlowe, a receptionist, on “WKRP in Cincinnati.” The show, which aired on CBS from 1978 to 1982, was about an easy-listening local radio station in Cincinnati that switched to a rock format.

She entered into a relationship with the actor Burt Reynolds, who would become her third husband, in 1982, when they were filming “Stroker Ace,” a movie comedy revolving around car racing.

The couple married in 1988 and adopted a son, Quinton Reynolds.

The marriage ended in 1993 in a bitter Hollywood split that would serve as tabloid filler for decades, with both Mr. Reynolds and Ms. Anderson jabbing at each other in interviews.