Ellen DeGeneres with real-life mom Betty (R) and her TV mom & dad Alice Hirson & Steven Gilborn in 1994
Alice Hirson, the veteran actor who played Ellen DeGeneres's mom on her '90s sitcom, died on Valentine's Day at 95, TV Line reports. She had been living in the Motion Picture & Television Country Home.
Hirson was born March 10, 1929, in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island.
After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1948, she made her stage debut in "On the Town," later making her Broadway debut in 1964's "Traveller with Luggage."
She made her TV debut on "Starlight Theatre" in 1951, but did not work regularly in the medium until the end of the '60s, when she began her first of many stints on a soap, playing Stephanie Martin on "The Edge of Night" (1969-1970).
Other soap work included "Somerset" (1970-1972), "Another World" (1970), "One Life to Live" (1971-1976), "General Hospital" (1982), and "Loving" (1993).
Hirson had memorable recurring roles as Miss Ellie's best friend on "Dallas" (1982-1988) and as Mimsy on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" 2008-2012), but it was her performance as Ellen's ditzy mom on "Ellen" (1994-1998) that became her most widely viewed.
As part of that gig, she appeared on the show's "The Puppy Episode," the 1997 installment on which her TV daughter -- mirroring Ellen herself -- came out as gay. The episode drew 42 million viewers.
Hirson guested on many popular series, among them "Maude" (1977), "The Waltons" (1977), "Flamingo Road" (1981), "Barney Miller" (1981), "Taxi" (1981), "Quincy, M.E." (1977-1983), "Hotel" (1985), "Matlock" (1986), "Full House" (1987), and "Law & Order" (1993).
While she appeared off and on in feature films, she was particularly effective in a small role as an American first lady in the visionary Peter Sellers movie "Being There" (1979).
Hirson was married to and divorced from actor Roger O. Hirson, and was preceded in death by her second husband, actor Stephen Elliott, in 2005. She is survived by her two children with Hirson and a grandchild.