Barbara Rush, ‘It Came From Outer Space’ and ‘All My Children’ Star, Dead at 97

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 11: Barbara Rush attends the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival Opening Night Gala and 30th Anniversary Screening of 'When Harry Met Sally' at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 11, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Barbara Rush, breakout star of the '50s cult classic It Came from Outer Space, has passed away. She was 97 years old.

The longtime actress' daughter, Fox News Channel senior correspondent Claudia Cowan, confirmed the sad news of her death to Fox News Digital on the evening of March 31, sharing that Rush had passed earlier that same afternoon.

"My wonderful mother passed away peacefully..." she shared. "I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition."

She added, "It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family."

Related: Remembering the Stars and Legends We've Lost In 2024

After beginning her career on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse, a talent agent scouted and signed her to Paramount Pictures in 1950. Rush starred in a handful of films before finding her breakout role in the sci-fi hit in 1953, which earned her only major award throughout her career: the 1954 Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer - Female.

She went on to work with countless legendary leading men, including Rock Hudson, Dean Martin, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Richard Burton, but in 1968, she shifted gears toward television, trading in high society for the villainous Nora Clavicle in Adam West's Batman. She also had successful runs in the soap opera circuit, starring on Peyton Place between 1968 and 1969 and dozens of episodes of All My Children between 1992 and 1994.

Her final credit, aside from a feature in a short film in 2017, was as Ruth Camden in 7th Heaven, in which she appeared periodically between 1997 and 2007.

She is survived by son Christopher, whom she shares with her first husband, the late Jeffrey Hunter, and Claudia, whom she shares with ex-husband Warren Cowan. Rush also spent three years married to sculptor Jim Gruzalski in the '70s.

Next: Chance Perdomo, ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ Actor, Dead at 27