Shelley Smith, ‘The Associates’ actress, model, dead at 70

Shelley Smith, a 1970s supermodel who later starred in “The Associates” television series and was a game-show regular, died Tuesday, her husband said. She was 70.

>> Read more trending news

Smith died at Hollywood Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her husband of 18 years, actor Michael Maguire, announced Smith’s death in a Facebook video on Wednesday. She had been in a coma after experiencing cardiac arrest last weekend, Maguire said.

“Shelley lived an incredible life. We are all heartbroken, but we are also so fortunate to have been touched by this beautiful, intelligent, compassionate and incredible soul,” Maguire said. “Life is so short. Make every second count and fill every second with love.”

Smith was born on Oct. 25, 1952, in Princeton, New Jersey, and graduated from Connecticut College, Deadline reported.

During the 1970s she built a thriving career as a supermodel, appearing in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour and Mademoiselle, according to the entertainment news website. She appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar before appearing in all 13 episodes of “The Associates,” a short-lived series starring Martin Short, according to Variety.

Smith next appeared in all 12 episodes of the 1983 military drama “For Love and Honor,” according to IMDb.com.

Smith was also a regular on several game shows, including “Super Password,” “Body Language” and “10,000 Pyramid,” Variety reported.

After her acting career ended, Smith earned a master’s degree in psychology from Antioch University and became a marriage and family therapist, according to Deadline.

She also founded an egg donor fertilization company in 1991 called Hatch Fertility, Variety reported. She created the company after her vitro fertilization pregnancy with her twin children, Miranda and Nicholas.

“I’ll never forget the moment of looking into this little boy’s eyes,” Smith told the Los Angeles Times after Nicholas’ birth. “He wasn’t fussing or crying. He came straight down from heaven, and he just looked right at me.”

Smith sold the company several years ago, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

©2023 Cox Media Group