Eileen Ryan, a once great actress and the mother to famous actor Sean Penn, has sadly passed away at the age of 94.
Ryan died on Sunday in her home in Malibu, Calif., a spokesperson for the star’s famous family announced on Monday.
She was almost ready to celebrate her 95th birthday later this month.
The family has not released Ryan’s cause of death at this time.
The legendary actress was mom to actors Sean Penn, 62, and Chris Penn, who died in 2006 at the age of 40, as well as musician Michael Penn, 64.
For 41 years, Ryan was wife to actor and director Leo Penn, whom she met in New York in 1957 at rehearsals for the play “The Iceman Cometh.”
The couple decided to get married shortly after meeting and remained together until Leo’s passing in 1998.
Ryan also appeared on Broadway in “Sing Till Tomorrow” from 1953 to 1954 and then again in 1958 for “Comes a Day.”
Throughout her decades-long career, the multi-talented entertainer appeared in over 60 movies and television shows.
Her best-known films include “Feast” (2005), “Parenthood” (1989), “Eight Legged Freaks” (2002), “Magnolia” (1999) and “All the King’s Men” (2006), though she also appeared in several of her sons’ projects, including “At Close Range” (1986), “I Am Sam” (2001), “The Indian Runner” (1991) and “The Crossing Guard” (1995).
On the small screen, she dominated guest roles on shows such as “The Twilight Zone,” “Bonanza,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “NYPD Blue,” “ER,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Private Practice,” “Ally McBeal” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” among many others.
Her son Sean has not made a public statement or spoken of his mother’s passing, but he is surely grieving at the loss of his mother whom he was close with.
