Valerie Mahaffey's husband says he's lost the love of his life as he leads tributes to star

The husband of the late , who died at the age of 71, has issued a statement following her death. Valerie died on Friday 30 May in Los Angeles following her battle with cancer, according to her publicist.

The highly acclaimed actress was best known for her roles in Desperate Housewives and Young Sheldon.

Speaking of his devastating loss, Joseph told Variety magazine: "I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses. She will be missed."

Valerie soon became a recognised face in TV playing endearing characters and worked alongside Hollywood elite such as and Tom Hanks.

Since news broke of her tragic death, tributes have been flooding in on social media among her legion of fans and her daughter. One person wrote: "So Sad to hear she's passed and only 71. RIP."

Another heartbroken fan penned: "Oh man, Valerie Mahaffey was always one of the most underrated and fantastic character actresses around."

And another said: "She was in EVERYTHING! And no one did soft spoken, passive aggressive viciousness better!"

Meanwhile her beloved daughter Alice took to and said: "I don’t really have the words to say right now. Cancer sucks."

She continued: "I'll look for you in all the fun moments of life. I know that’s where you’ll be."

Adding to her glittering career over the years, Valerie recently starred in the Apple TV+ series Echo 3 which was released in 2022.

Alongside her TV project she also joined the cast of the film The 8th Day, which aired earlier this year.

Valerie's first TV role, which helped propel her to stardom, was in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors in 1979. And in 1980, Valerie was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the series.

But she had to wait a few more years before she was awarded the coveted gong. In 1992, Valerie took home the Emmy for her role in Northern Exposure, playing Eve.

Her love of acting saw her make appearances in a host of other TV shows such as Law & Order, CSI and the comedy Frasier.

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