Actress Bonnie Franklin Dies at 69

Bonnie Franklin, best known for her role in TV's One Day at a Time, died Friday at the age of 69.

The Santa Monica-born actress, who had been battling pancreatic cancer, reportedly died at her Los Angeles home.

Franklin played single mom Ann Romano on the hit sitcom, which ran from 1975 to 1984. Her two daughters in the series were played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli, and Pat Harrington played the superintendent of the apartment building where the Romano family lived.

"My heart is breaking," Bertinelli said in a statement. "Bonnie has always been one of the most important women in my life and was a second mother to me. The years on One Day at a Time were some of the happiest of my life, and along with Pat and Mackenzie, we were a family in every way."

Bertinelli said that Franklin taught her "how to navigate this business and life itself with grace and humor, and to always be true to yourself. I will miss her terribly."

Franklin's work on One Day at a Time earned her one Emmy nomination and two nominations for Golden Globes.

Born on Jan. 6, 1944, Bonnie Gail Franklin snagged her first TV role as a child. She later graduated from Beverly Hills High School and attended UCLA. Her last TV appearance reportedly was a cameo role on the soap The Young and the Restless in 2012.