Polly Holliday death: Parent Trap and Mrs Doubtfire star dies, aged 88

Polly Holliday, who acted in The Parent Trap and Mrs Doubtfire, has died aged 88.

The news was confirmed by her agent Dennis Aspland who revealed she had died at her Manhattan home, in a statement to the New York Times.

Born in Jasper, Alabama in 1937, Holliday’s breakthrough role came in 1976, as the bold and sarcastic waitress Florence Jean “Flo” Castleberry in Alice. Her character’s catchphrase “Kiss my grits!” became part of everyday American language.

She also made appearances in The Golden Girls as Betty White’s onscreen sister who is blind. Holliday is also well known for her film roles including as Ned Beaty’s character’s secretary in the 1976 political thriller All the President’s Men.

In Mrs Doubtfire (1993), she played nosy neighbour Gloria Chaney, alongside Robin Williams, Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan.

She went on to star in The Parent Trap (1998), as Marva Kulp, the owner and director of Camp Walden, where Lindsay Lohan’s characters (two long-lost sisters) find themselves.

Director Nancy Meyers shared a special tribute to Holliday calling her a “kind” person and a “wonderful” actor.

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"So sad to hear of Polly Holliday’s passing," she wrote in a post on Instagram on Wednesday (10 September).

“She was so kind and game and just wonderful in every moment in The Parent Trap. I just saw her the other night in All The President’s Men. She was fantastic in that film. My condolences to her loved ones and friends."

Lohan commented on the post, writing: “Oh my goodness. What a beautiful woman inside and out. God bless and RIP Polly.”

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She added: “She was wonderful and of course also [in] The Parent Trap.”

Holliday returned to TV as the mother-in-law of Tim Allen’s character on Home Improvement.

She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress for her role as Big Mama in the 1990 play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Her Broadway work also included Arsenic and Old Lace (1986), Picnic (1994) and The Time of the Cuckoo (2000).

Holliday was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame in 2000.

Her final appearance was in the 2010 film Fair Game as Diana Plame, the mother of Naomi Watts’ portrayal of CIA officer Valerie Plame.