Jennifer Leak, ‘Yours, Mine and Ours’ Actress and Soap Star, Dead at 76
LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 1: Jennifer Leak as Gwen Sherman in the CBS daytime drama series "The Young and the Restless," 1974. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
Jennifer Leak, who starred as one of the kids in the 1968 version of Yours, Mine and Ours, passed away at her home in Jupiter, Florida, on March 18, Deadline reports. She was 76.
Her ex-husband and co-star in the film, Tim Matheson, to whom she was married from 1968 to 1971, announced her death on his Facebook page on Wednesday, March 27, though he didn't provide many details.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of Jennifer Leak’s passing. She wasn’t just my screen sister in ‘Yours, Mine and Ours,’ but also my beloved first wife," he wrote alongside a photo of the two together. "Jennifer was a remarkable woman, strong, lovely, and incredibly talented. My deepest condolences go out to her husband of 47 years, James D’Auria, and their multitude of friends.”
Leak departed the industry for the most part in the '80s when she became a sales agent at a real estate company. Her final credits, according to IMDb, were a two-episode guest spot on the series Loving in 1992.
According to the publication, Leak, who was also regularly featured across a series of soap operas, including The Young and the Restless, Another World, and Guiding Light, suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy in the last few years of her life, a rare neurological disease that, according to the Mayo Clinic, is caused by damaged cells in the parts of the brain controlling body movement, coordination, thinking and other functions and affects walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing.
Over time, the disease can lead to pneumonia, difficulty swallowing, and other dangerous complications. It''s not known at this time if it was the disease that led to her death.
Leak is survived by her husband, D'Auria, whom she wed in 1977, and her brother.
Next: George Gilbey, Former 'Celebrity Big Brother' Contestant, Dead at 40
