The Waltons actress, who also worked with Demi Moore and Helen Hunt, dies at 90

By HEIDI PARKER, US DEPUTY SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR Published: 20:54, 27 April 2026 | Updated: 21:17, 27 April 2026 Hollywood actress Mariclare Costello has died at the age of 90. She passed away on the morning of April 17, in Brooklyn, New York, according to the Peoria Journal Star. The star was best known for starring on the family TV show The Waltons. She played Rosemary Hunter Fordwick from 1972 to 1977. And she went on to make several other shows like The Fitzpatricks in 1977 with Helen Hunt and Jimmy McNichol where she played matriarch Maggie Fitzpatrick. The actress then starred in movies such as After The Fall in 1974 with Faye Dunaway and Christopher Plummer as well as Indecent Proposal in 1993 with Demi Moore and Robert Redford. Hollywood actress Mariclare Costello has died at the age of 90. She passed away on the morning of April 17, in Brooklyn, New York, according to the Peoria Journal Star The star was best known for starring on the family TV show The Waltons. She played Rosemary Hunter Fordwick from 1972 to 1977 'Her gift was rare,' her family wrote in an obituary. 'She knew how to get people out of their own heads, focused on a task rather than on themselves, and in doing so helped them access their own creative voices.' The thespian was also 'a wonderful cook' who rescued stray animals and had a knack for decorating homes. 'She was also, in every dimension of her life, someone who paid attention,' her family wrote. 'She could talk to anyone, was interested in everything, and was a relentless asker of questions.'  She is survived by her daughter Arin and her partner, Ethan; granddaughter Bird; stepdaughters Amy and Doon; and several nieces and a nephew. A funeral service will be held in New York City, with burial and remembrance planned in Peoria. Her first role was in 1967's The Tiger Makes Out before starring on NYPD, Pound and Storefront Lawyers. In 1971 the star had a memorable role as both Emily and Abigail on Let's Scare Jessica To Death. In 1971 the star had a memorable role as both Emily and Abigail on Let's Scare Jessica To Death In 1974 she starred with Martin Sheen in The Execution Of Private Slovik In 1987 she starred as Kate Cummings opposite Traci Lind in a CBS Schoolbreak Special The star also popped up on Kojak, Barnaby Jones, Harry O, The Incredible Hulk and Lou Grant. In 1980 she appeared as Audrey Butler in the award-winning movie Ordinary People. Costello played Helen Crane on The Little House On The Prairie in 1980. She had a memorable role as Anita Boyer in the 1982 episode of Deep In The Hart Of Dixieland on TV's Hart To Hart with Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. In the 1990s, she appeared on Santa Barbara, Chicago Hope and Judging Amy.  Her last TV acting role was as Helen Norris on Providence in 2002. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.