American actress Kathryn Kates, known for her appearances in ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’, died at the age of 73 on January 22 after a long battle with lung cancer.

Announcing hear death, Headline Talent Agency, with whom Kates had been for a long time, said, “Kathryn has been our client for many years, and we have grown much closer to her in this last year since she knew of her cancer returning. She was always incredibly brave and wise and approached every role with the greatest of passion. She will be greatly missed.”

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“She was surrounded by her incredible family when she peacefully passed. She wasn’t just a dear client of ours but also our friend. Losing her is heartbreaking, but there’s no doubt that her immense talent will live on for generations to come,” added Erica Bines from the agency, which represented Kates.

Commenting on Kates’ death, her manager Bob McGowan told PEOPLE in an email, “my heart is broken, she was the best. The entire time she was sick, she never complained.”

Born in New York City, Kates began her acting career in Los Angeles, California. She founded The Colony Theatre with 25 colleagues including American actor John Larroquette. Kates went on to produce and appear in several award-winning stage performances with The Colony Theatre for years.

Kates started making appearances on television and films from the 1980s, appearing in two episodes of famed American sitcom ‘Seinfeld’ between 1994 and 1996. The 73-year-old became a household name much later when she appeared in some episodes of the Netflix prison drama ‘Orange Is New Black’ (2013-2019).

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Kates also played a role in the 2021 ‘Sopranos’ prequel film, ‘The Many Saints of Newark’, and also appeared in the award-winning short film ‘Welcome to Sarajevo’, for which she won Best Actress at the NYCTV Festival.

The 73-year-old is survived by her sister, Mallory, and brother, Joshua, sister-in-laws Sue Ann and Gloria and nephew Ben.