Tori Spelling is opening up about the profound impact late sitcom actress Loni Anderson made on her life.
Following the news of Anderson’s death at age 79 on Sunday, Aug. 3, Spelling took to Instagram to share her condolences, while looking back at the special relationship she had with the WKRP in Cincinnati alum.
Sharing a montage of photos featuring her and Anderson, Spelling, 52, penned a lengthy tribute in her Instagram caption on Sunday, which began with the words, “Loni defined a legend.”
Spelling then recalled working with Anderson on the short-lived sitcom So NoTORIous back in 2006, when the two actresses played a mother-daughter duo.
Spelling, who portrayed a fictionalized version of herself in the show, said Anderson left a “special imprint” on her “heart, soul, and very being,” while playing the role of her on-screen mom, Kiki Spelling.
“At a time when I was leaving the meta physical nest embarking into adulthood not on any particular guided timeline Loni came into my life,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 star wrote. “She represented kindness, humbleness, and pure grace. She taught me so much. We laughed, we cried, she was as real as they got, while simultaneously knowing her worth.”
Noting that Anderson taught her a number of valuable lessons as a woman working in Hollywood, Spelling wrote, “Its [sic] interesting in life that sometimes people come into our lives even a short time with lasting lifelong impressions.
“This funny lady will be missed by everyone whose lives she touched. On screen and off,” she added. “Love you forever Loni 💔.”
Anderson died on Sunday, Aug. 3, just days before her 80th birthday. Her publicist Cheryl J. Kagan said the actress died in a Los Angeles-area hospital after a battle with a “prolonged illness.”