Mary Beth Hurt dead at 79

Actor Mary Beth Hurt has died. She was 79.

The Tony-nominated performer, who appeared in films including Interiors, Chilly Scenes of Winter and The World According to Garp, died on Saturday at an assisted living facility in New Jersey, her husband, Oscar-nominated writer and director Paul Schrader, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hurt was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2015.

She appeared multiple times on Broadway between 1974 and 2011, and in 1982 received one of her three career Tony nominations for her turn as Meg Magrath in Crimes of the Heart.

"The first thing, above all, is that she is a fine ensemble actress," said playwright David Hare, who directed Hurt on Broadway.

In The World According to Garp in 1982, Hurt starred in the role of Helen Holm, a smart, independent woman who marries TS Garp, played by Robin Williams.

Hurt rarely enjoyed top billing during her career, and that's the way she preferred it.

"I've never been extremely comfortable playing the lead," she explained in a 2010 interview. "I don't like the responsibility; there's a feeling that I have to be good. Besides, I found secondary parts much more interesting, especially when I was younger and the ingénue roles were pretty bland."

Hurt's name came from her first husband, Oscar-winning actor William Hurt, to whom she was married from 1971 until 1982.