Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning actress, dead at 89

Olympia Dukakis won the Oscar for best supporting actress in the movie 'Moonstruck'. Photo: AFP

Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actor whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher’s mother in the romantic comedy "Moonstruck,” has died. She was 89.

Dukakis died Saturday (May 1) morning in her home in New York City, according to Allison Levy, her agent at Innovative Artists. A cause of death was not immediately released, but her family said in a statement that she had been in failing health for months.