‘Gilmore Girls’ Star Dies at 97

Bunny Levine, a character actress who started her screen career after 25 years as a school librarian, has died at 97.

She died in her sleep Thursday at her home in Tarzana, California, manager Brandon Kjar told CBS News. She was still auditioning in her final months. Her last job was in June.

Levine was born Dec. 22, 1928, in East Orange, New Jersey. She wanted to perform, then took another path: master’s degrees from NYU and Columbia, then a quarter-century in school libraries. After retiring from education, she started auditioning and built a late career that most actors never get.

Her credits included Gilmore Girls, Law & Order, Raising Hope, and the Oscar-winning La La Land. Later roles included The Invisible Raptor (2023), Sacramento and Thelma (2024), plus The Upshaws and The Cure in 2026.

“She was a great and fearless actress and such a nice lady. What a full life. She will be missed,” agent Mike Eisenstadt said.

Levine and her husband of 53 years, Bernie Levine, founded Actors Connection in New York in 1991 to help other performers. The organization said her work “launched countless careers.”

She is survived by children Marty, Francie, and Joe, and grandchildren Robin and Jeffrey. The family said she “inspired affection and admiration” in both education and performance.

It was an unusual American career: librarian first, working actress into her 90s.