Kathryn Joosten of 'Desperate Housewives' Has Passed Away

Kathryn Joosten, who portrayed Karen McCloskey on "Desperate Housewives”, passed away Saturday from lung cancer at the age of 72. Her portrayal of the often feisty, sometimes nosy but mostly loveable Mrs. McCluskey garnered her two Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy. Her portrayal of the character this season was particularly poignant because Mrs. McCloskey succumbs to cancer in the series ending finale in a heart wrenching scene with Orson Bean, who portrayed Roy Bender her love interest.

Joosten had long admitted she was living with cancer after suffering two different bouts with the disease. Her first encounter with the disease began in 2001. Several times she performed on the small screen in a role of a cancer survivor.

Joosten achieved acting success later in life, only beginning her acting career at the age of 42. She had admitted she choose to follow her dream to become an actor after the death of her mother. She portrayed the ever endearing "Mrs. Landingham" the secretary to the President of the United States, played by Martin Sheen on NBC's "The West Wing." She had many other roles in diverse shows like the soap opera "General Hospital", the comedy show "Dharma and Greg" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as well as appearing in many TV commercials. Often times she portrayed characters that were actually much older than her own true age.

Joosten is survived by two sons and two grandsons. We offer our condolences to her real-life family as well as her on-screen families as well.