‘Growing Pains’ actress Betty McGuire dies at 100

Betty McGuire, the actress known for playing Kate Malone on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains, has died at the age of 100.

She died on October 8, 2026, from natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s Wasserman Campus in Woodland Hills, California.

Keith Gerchak, McGuire’s power of attorney, confirmed her death, according to Variety.

McGuire became familiar to television audiences through her seven-year association with Growing Pains. She played Kate Malone, the mother of Joanna Kerns’ character, Maggie Seaver. The actress appeared as a recurring character in the sitcom’s first two seasons before returning for Seasons 4 through 7.

Her television career extended well beyond the family sitcom. McGuire appeared in several popular series, including Falcon Crest, The Doris Day Show, Columbo, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Hill Street Blues, ER, CSI: Miami, MacGyver, Moonlighting and Charlie’s Angels.

McGuire also appeared in feature films, including Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke and Coma, the medical thriller directed by Michael Crichton.

Alongside her screen work, McGuire had an extensive theatre career. She performed with prominent Broadway figures such as Ethel Merman, Barbara Cook, Bea Arthur and Tony Randall in original productions of Plain and Fancy, Happy Hunting and Oh, Captain! She later headlined Mame at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and toured in productions of Gypsy, Auntie Mame, Oliver!, How to Succeed in Business… and The Ziegfeld Follies of 1956.

In her later years, McGuire volunteered at the Coalition for Economic Survival legal clinic in Los Angeles, helping low-income tenants facing eviction. She also hosted GabFest, a talk show on Channel 22 at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Home, where she lived.

According to Variety, McGuire had no surviving family members.