Linda Lavin’s Cause of Death Revealed After Alice Star’s Death at 87

Linda Lavin’s cause of death has been determined.

According to a death certificate obtained by TMZ and reviewed by PEOPLE, the Alice star died after suffering cardiopulmonary arrest with lung cancer as an underlying cause.

Per the Cleveland Clinc, cardiopulmonary arrest stops blood from pumping into the heart, which keeps oxygen from being delivered to vital organs. This typically causes people to collapse and become unresponsive.

Just a few days before her death, Lavin also underwent a bronchoscopy on Dec. 26, 2024. A bronchoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure where a physician will examine a patient’s airways to treat or diagnose a lung condition, per the Cleveland Clinic.

The actress was cremated by her husband Steve Bakunas, whom she married in 2005, at their Los Angeles home on Jan. 4.

On Sunday, Dec. 29, PEOPLE confirmed Lavin’s death with her representative saying in a statement that she “passed unexpectedly due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer.”

Three weeks before her death, Lavin opened up to PEOPLE about her “flowing” career and whether or not she was pursing more work in Hollywood during the premiere of Netflix’s No Good Deed.

“That’s pretty much where the career is flowing right now,” said the television star, who played the neighbor character Phyllis in No Good Deed. “And I did a play a couple of years ago in New York, almost two years ago, so that recently, off-Broadway, and it was a limited run, which I enjoy.”

The Tony Award winner added, “It doesn’t matter about the medium for me. If it had been a play, I would’ve said yes, but I still would’ve liked a limited run.”

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She also shared how she found inspiration from her roles in her everyday life and revealed how she liked to “expose myself through the character” as an actress.

“I have a wonderful life, a wonderful husband [Bakunas] who’s standing over there and I have a very rich and full life and I’m happy to show up. I’m thrilled to show up at this time in my life. I’m really grateful,” she added.