Joan Rivers has died, her daughter confirms

Joan Rivers has passed away at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, her daughter has confirmed. The legendary comedian was 81.

Her daughter Melissa Rivers said in a statement earlier today (September 4):

“It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers. She passed peacefully at 1:17pm surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother. Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received from around the world. They have been heard and appreciated. My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon.”

Rivers, 81, had been admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York last Thursday (August 28) after reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest during throat surgery at a medical clinic elsewhere in the city. Her exact cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

Rivers was born Joan Alexandra Molinsky in Brooklyn, New York on June 8 1933, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. After choosing Joan Rivers as her stage name, she worked her way up through the New York stand-up scene in the 1960s before making her first TV appearances midway through the decade.

In the 1970s, she made many more TV appearances on US comedy programmes including The Carol Burnett Show and Hollywood Squares, and also wrote the first of 12 books, all either memoirs or humorous volumes. In 1978, she wrote and directed the film Rabbit Test starring Billy Crystal.

In 1982, she became one of the first celebrities to join the fight against HIV/AIDS when she hosted and headlined a benefit at the Backlot Theatre in Los Angeles.

The following year, she was named permanent guest host of The Tonight Show, where she would regularly stand in for Johnny Carson, but when she left in 1986 to host a rival chatshow, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, Carson – whom she had considered a mentor – would never speak to her again.

Rivers’ own chatshow was cancelled in 1987 and shortly afterwards her second husband, Edgar, whom she had married in 1965, committed suicide.

In typical Rivers fashion, she rallied back and went on to host a daytime programme, The Joan Rivers Show, from 1989 to 1993, winning a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 1990.

In the 1990s, Rivers also became known for hosting pre-awards shows at events including the Oscars and Golden Globes, where she would deliver tack-sharp critiques of the A-list guests’ outfits.

From 2011 she co-hosted weekly show Fashion Police on US entertainment network E! alongside Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic and George Kotsiopoulos. She taped her final episode of Fashion Police on August 26 – just two days before she was admitted to hospital.

Her final book, Diary of a Mad Diva, was published earlier this year. Rivers, who always insisted she would never stop working, had been due to embark on a stand-up tour of the UK next month (October).

She is survived by her daughter, Melissa, 46, and her grandson, Cooper.

> Click here for a selection of Joan Rivers’ most memorable zingers