Shelley Smith, a former actress and model renowned for her role in the series ‘The Associates’, has passed away at the age of 70.
Michael Maguire, her husband, shared a Facebook video that revealed Smith had sadly died after suffering a cardiac arrest. However, he later clarified to Fox News that his wife had been dealing with ongoing respiratory issues.
Maguire revealed that during her early days as a model, Smith contracted pneumonia while in Africa, which often caused her to suffer recurrent bouts of the illness.
“She went on to have pneumonia over 10 times in her life. In the last year, it just started going downhill,” Maguire. A double-lung transplant was Smith’s only option, but her frail condition and the challenges associated with the procedure meant that she ultimately decided against it.
Last week, Maguire announced his wife’s passing on Facebook, writing: “My dear, sweet angel Shelly Smith passed peacefully [August 8] at 2:20 PM. Her children, Nicky and Miranda Nathan and I were at her side and holding her hand and kissing her head and singing to her and telling her how much we loved her.”
Shelley Smith at the party for Larry Thompson in California on August 14, 1982. (Photo by Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty Images)
In addition to her role in ‘The Associates’, Smith appeared in ‘For Love and Honor’, and made guest appearances on popular shows like ‘The Love Boat’ and ‘Murder, She Wrote.’
Smith also participated in various celebrity game shows, including ‘Super Password.’
Maguire and Smith had recently celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary. The couple initially met through mutual friends and tied the knot in 2005.
“We had both gone through relatively tough divorces and were, you know, a little gun shy… We were just so well-connected,” Maguire said. “And then we had a lot of parallels in our life because she was a supermodel and had been very successful, and then she went into acting, and then she went back to school.”
Maguire, a Tony Award winner, also transitioned from his profession to pursue further education and become a divorce attorney.
“She got a degree in marriage and family therapy and at the same time was having her own fertility issues,” before giving birth to her twins, Nicky and Miranda. Recognizing the need to support women facing fertility challenges, Smith founded her own business focused on egg donation and surrogacy, dedicating her life to assisting families in their expansion.
“Your time here is fleeting. The true measure of success is how you spend it. And she… was truly dedicated to helping people build families. That’s her greatest legacy. That’s what she would be most proud of.”
Maguire expressed his astonishment at the outpouring of support from people following Smith’s passing and revealed that the family is planning an online tribute to honor her memory.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Shelley Smith’s family, friends, and fans at this difficult time.