Florence Henderson Dies: The Brady Bunch Mom was 82

We've lost a television icon.

Florence Henderson, known the world over for her role as the matriarch of The Brady Bunch, Carol Brady, has died at age 82.

Her manager, Kayla Pressman, shared the news in a statement to Associated Press on Thursday, saying Henderson died surrounded by friends and family.

Henderson was born the youngest of 10 children to farmers in Indiana.

After she graduated from high school, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

Henderson married Ira Bernstein, with whom she had four children, and divorced in 1985.

She later wed Dr. John George Kappas and they remained married until his death in 1987.

We're most familiar with her story as it began in 1969 on The Brady Bunch, but she was an accomplished stage actress before then, and was also a Today Show girl.

Interestingly, Henderson was also the first woman to host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The year was 1962.

Henderson's career never stopped, and she played Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch and in numerous other spinoffs and even played "Grandma" in The Brady Bunch Movie, through 2014.

Among other things, Henderson also had her own talk show, The Florence Henderson Show from 2007-09 and cooking show, Who's Cooking with Florence Henderson in 2013 on The Retirement Living Network.

Her final movie, The Grandmothers Murder Club, will premiere sometime in 2017.

By playing Carol Brady, Henderson became one of the most beloved fictional mothers of all time.

The joined family of her three daughters with husband Mike Brady and his three sons is still one of the most cited family sitcoms.

With her groovy style, cute pixie haircut and caring, compassionate, but strong parental resole, there wasn't anyone who didn't want Mrs. Brady as their mom.

Henderson wrote a tell-all book in which she revealed a scandalous relationship with Barry Williams who played her eldest son, Greg, on the series, among other things in 2011, which coincided with her appearance on Dancing With the Stars Season 11.

Henderson appeared on Dancing With the Stars Season 23 when her Brady daughter, Maureen (Marcia) McCormick was a contestant and danced on TV Night to a Brady Bunch song.

Henderson is survived by her four children, Barbara, Joseph, Elizabeth and Robert.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.