Page Six video / Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026 / Susan Saint James, best known for her roles in the TV series “Kate & Allie” and in “McMillan & Wife,” has died. She was 80. A rep for the actress confirmed her death to People Tuesday, sharing she passed away on Monday after battling pancreatic cancer.
St. James became a household name playing Sally McMillan opposite Rock Hudson on McMillan & Wife in the early 1970s, returning to television in 1984 as Kate McArdle on Kate & Allie. Alongside Jane Curtin, she played one of two divorced mothers raising their children together in New York City.
In McMillan & Wife (1971–1976), St. James received two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama nomination. and she starred as Kate McArdle in the sitcom Kate & Allie (1984-1989), garnering a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nomination in 1984.
Away from television, St. James shared a long marriage with TV exec Dick Ebersol whom she met while hosting Saturday Night Live in 1981. Their lives were turned upside down in 2004, when their 14-year-old son Teddy was killed in a plane crash that also seriously injured Ebersol and their other son, Charlie.