Golden Girls actress Rue McClanahan died at 76 as result of a massive stroke early Thursday, RadarOnline.com has learned.

PHOTOS: Rue McClanahan Through The Years

The Emmy-winning actress was born in Oklahoma, the daughter of a beautician and a building contractor. She had a prolific career on the stage and screen, best known for her portrayal of man-crazed Southern belle Blanche Deveraux on the hit NBC 80s sitcom, which is still popular in reruns.

She told the NY Times in 1985 that the Golden Girls, a show about four elderly women living together in Miami, was aimed at proving "that when people mature, they add layers. They don't turn into other creatures. The truth is we all still have our child, our adolescent, and your young woman living in us."

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