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'Gilligan’s Island' star Dawn Wells dies of COVID-19 complications at 82

She was an iconic face on CBS.
Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Actress Dawn Wells attends the 2015 TV Land Awards at Saban Theatre on April 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.

LOS ANGELES — Editor's Note: The video above is an interview from 2014.

Dawn Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann among a misfit band of shipwrecked castaways on the 1960s sitcom “Gilligan's Island,” died Wednesday of causes related to COVID-19, her publicist said. She was 82.

Wells died peacefully at a living facility in Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll said.

“There is so much more to Dawn Wells” than the “Gilligan's Island” character that brought her fame, Boll said in a statement.

Besides TV, film and stage acting credits, her other real-life roles included teacher and motivational speaker, Boll said.

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Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Dawn Wells arrives at the Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel on Friday, April 29, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Born in Reno, Nevada, Wells represented her state in the 1959 Miss America pageant and quickly pivoted to an acting career. Her early TV roles came on shows including “77 Sunset Strip,” “Maverick” and “Bonanza."

Then came “Gilligan's Island,” a goofy, good-natured show that became an unlikely but indelible part of popular culture.

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