Just one year after losing Golden Girl Bea Arthur, another member of the cast has passed away. Rue McClanahan (aka Blanche) died early this morning after suffering a massive stroke.

Image via movieeye.com

She began acting as a child and won an Emmy for her role as Blanche Devereaux, predecessor to Samantha Jones. The Golden Girls was totally Sex in the City: Miami and no one else could have pulled off the role of Blanche quite like Rue.

Like her Golden Girls costars, she was a strong supporter of many animal causes and worked closely with PETA to campaign against animal testing. Referring to wearing fur, she once said "cruelty is one fashion statement we can all do without."

Comeback queen, recent SNL host, and fellow advocate for animals, Betty White, now the last living Golden Girl, released a statement this afternoon:

"Rue was a close and dear friend. I treasure our relationship. It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that's even possible."

We’ll miss her too.