Oscar nominee Barbara Barrie has died at the age of 95 after ending her life with medical assistance, following a battle with terminal cancer. Her daughter Jane Harnick confirmed that Barrie passed away at her home in Manhattan after her terminal diagnosis.
Barrie was best known for starring in Breaking Away, along with roles in Disney's Hercules, the TV series Pushing Daisies and Law & Order. Throughout her life, she had been relatively quiet about her health, other than disclosing a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2014. The progressive condition causes breathlessness and a lack of oxygen, and can lead to lung failure.
Earlier Cancer Diagnosis and Surgery
Barrie was also diagnosed with rectal cancer in 1994, after learning the disease ran in her family. She underwent surgery to get a permanent stoma, telling the press at the time: "It's not the end of the world. What I'm trying to tell people is that you can have this thing and survive it."
She added: "I work out, I go to the gym, we make love, we go bicycling in Europe every year."
Career and Family Life
Alongside her acting roles, Barrie was the author of four books, including two non-fiction books about life after cancer and undergoing a colostomy. She married Broadway producer Jay Harnick in 1964, and the couple had two children – daughter Jane and son Aaron. Jay died in 2007, almost two decades before his wife.
Barrie was nominated for a Tony Award when she appeared in the Broadway production of Company in 1970, and won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in the 1964 film One Potato, Two Potato. Her role as Evelyn in 1979's Breaking Away earned her an Oscar nomination.
Tributes and Survivors
Barrie is survived by three granddaughters. Tributes have flooded in for the actress, with one person writing on X: "She was super nice and had fantastic stories. RIP."
Another said: "I was just watching her in an old episode of Barney Miller. Her dry delivery made every scene terrific. Godspeed, Barbara Barrie." A third posted: "She was excellent in SVU, too. Great episode with her."
