TV Icon Mary Tyler Moore Dies at 80

Today the world says goodbye to TV icon Mary Tyler Moore, who died at age 80 after being hospitalized earlier in Connecticut.

Born in Brooklyn New York, Moore moved to Los Angeles with her family when she was eight years old and began her career in show business as a dancer at the age of 17.

After landing an Emmy playing the effervescent Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Moore went on to play the role that would cement her lifelong status as a television icon. Many will best remember Moore as a feminist shero for playing the never-married, working woman protagonist on her '70s sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But in 1980, Moore was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the drama film Ordinary People.

In addition to her work in film and television, Moore was also an ardent activist concerned with animal rights and the research of diabetes mellitus type 1.

"Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile," said Moore's rep Mara Buxbaum in an official statement.