Lois Smith Dies: Top Celebrity Publicist Dies Of Brain Hemorrhage

Lois Smith, a longtime celebrity publicist who helped promote the careers of Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, and Maryl Streep among many others, died Sunday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. She was 85.

According to ABC News, Mrs. Smith, whose daughter is former Grey’s Anatomy star Brooke Smith, was in Maine with her husband Saturday to celebrate his philanthropic contributions. During the night she fell, sustaining a head injury, and was taken to a local hospital but unfortunately did not survive the accident.

Entertainment Weekly reports that, in 1969, Smith was a part of a group that founded Pickwick Public Relations — an agency that would later evolve into the Hollywood powerhouse firm PMK.

During her time, Smith was known for representing stars like Marilyn Monroe, Warren Beatty, Martin Scorsese, Susan Sarandon, Liza Minelli, and Whitney Houston.

Upon hearing of Smith’s passing, actress Marlee Matlin, a former client of Lois who won an Oscar for her film debut in Children of a Lesser God, paid tribute to her former mentor via Twitter.

Matlin wrote:

“So sad to read about passing of publicist & friend Lois Smith. She helped guide me when I did (1986 movie) Children Of A Lesser God. I will miss her. RIP.

“She really set me on the right track when I was so new,” she added.

Lois was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Publicists Guild in 2003. People magazine writes that, by 2010, Smith had retired, and the foundation of her career, PMK, had been re-named PMK*BNC after another merger.

In addition to her husband, Lois Smith is survived by three children — Eric, Luke and Brooke — and four grandchildren.