Actress Teri Garr, whose unusual comedic talents earned her an Oscar nomination Toetsie in 1982, passed away after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 79.

She died Tuesday from complications of the disease, surrounded by her family and friends This is reported by the Associated Press. She had first shared her diagnosis in 2002, underwent surgery for an aneurysm in 2007 and had struggled with other health problems in recent years.

Garr, whose idiosyncratic humor style influenced a generation of comedians, including Tina Feystarted her career as a background dancer in Elvis Presley’s films. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, she earned prominent roles in high-profile comedies like Young Frankenstein and dramas like Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Garr came from a show business family. Her father, Eddie Garr, was a vaudevillian, while her mother, Phyllis Lind, was one of the original Rockettes. At the age of 14, Garr was already dancing with the ballet companies of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Her first major acting role was in the 1974 Francis Coppola film The conversationand her performance helped her land the gig that would introduce her to a wider audience: Inga, the German-accented laboratory assistant in the 1974 horror comedy Young Frankenstein.

An established comedic talent, she made notable appearances as Dustin Hoffman’s girlfriend Toetsie in 1982 and as Michael Keaton’s wife Mister Mom in 1983. Worried about being typecast as a comedic actor, Garr proved her dramatic chops in films like Close meetings And The escape artist.

She was also known for a series of funny appearances in the early days of ‘Late Night With David Letterman’ in the 1980s, during which she and the then-rising host brazenly bickered.

In 1983, she noticed a tapping sensation in her right leg. Eventually it spread, and when the symptoms became unbearable, Garr went to the doctor in 1999 and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She did not share the diagnosis publicly for three years.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t get a job,” she said in 2003, according to the AP. “People hear MS and think, ‘Oh my God, the person has two days to live.'”

Garr became a spokesperson for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and gave humorous lectures at meetings across the US. She also continued acting, appearing in a number of prominent TV roles, including three episodes as Phoebe Buffay’s biological mother on the hit ’90s sitcom. Friends.

She is survived by her daughter, Molly O’Neil, and a grandson, AP reported.