Katherine Helmond, actress in US sitcom Soap, dies aged 89

Actress Katherine Helmond, an Emmy-nominated actress who had notable roles on the sitcoms Who's the Boss? and Soap, has died at the age of 89.

Helmond's talent agency APA announced that she died last Saturday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at her home in Los Angeles.

Nominated for seven Emmy Awards in a 60-year career, Helmond played Judith Light's mother and Alyssa Milano's grandmother Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss?, the series that ran on ABC from 1984 to 1992.

She played matriarch Jessica Tate on another ABC sitcom, Soap, a parody of soap operas that aired from 1977 to 1981.

Helmond was a favourite of director Terry Gilliam, appearing in his films Brazil, Time Bandits and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.