A heartbreaking loss. Actress Mary Mara died at age 61 on Sunday, June 26, after an apparent drowning.
The Ray Donovan alum’s body was discovered by first responders in St. Vincent, New York, on Sunday morning, according to a press release from the New York State Police on Monday, June 27. Mara had been swimming in the St. Lawrence River, which is on the United States/Canada border and flows into Lake Ontario.
“The victim’s body showed no signs of foul play and was transported to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office,” the police said in the statement. Though a preliminary investigation showed that Mara died by drowning, authorities will still conduct an autopsy to officially confirm the cause of death.
“Mary was one of the finest actresses I ever met,” Mara’s manager, Craig Dorfman, told Us Weekly in a statement on Monday. “I still remember seeing her onstage in 1992 in Mad Forest Off-Broadway. She was electric, funny and a true individual. Everyone loved her. She will be missed.”
The Criminal Minds alum was in St. Vincent visiting her sister, Martha Mara, with whom she was very close. Mary is also survived by sister Susan Mara, brother-in-law Scott Dailey, nephew Christopher Dailey and stepdaughter Katie Mersola.
Many of Mary’s friends and colleagues paid tribute to the late star with tributes shared via social media. “Crushed to learn of Mary Mara’s untimely passing,” Jon Lindstrom tweeted on Monday. “We performed together back in 2008 in Malcolm Danare’s In Heat at the Lost Playhouse in LA. She was plowing through the aftereffects of Chemo. Brave, brilliant, Uber-talented. Earth will be much less-colorful without her. R.I.P.”
Annette O’Toole, who worked with Mary on Nash Bridges in the 1990s, reflected on her skills as an actress as well as her personality. “Mary Mara was funny, kind, brilliantly talented,” the Smallville alum, 70, tweeted. “I am terribly sorry she has left us.”
Bob Saenz, who also appeared on the police procedural, shared his memories of the former Dexter star as well. “This the Mary I remember,” he wrote alongside a throwback photo of the actress. “I had the absolute pleasure of working with Mary Mara for 2 great years. Consummate pro, funny, sharp, kind, a first class human being. She was kind enough to participate in a table read of one of my earliest scripts. RIP Mary. You’ll be missed.”
Keep scrolling for five things to know about Mary.