Lisa Loring, the Original Wednesday Addams, Has Died at 64

“She went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands” Loring’s daughter told Variety.

Credit: Bobby Bank / ABC Photo Archives / Disney via Getty Images
Credit: Bobby Bank / ABC Photo Archives / Disney via Getty Images

Lisa Loring, the actor best known for playing Wednesday Addams in the original TV version of “The Addams Family,died from a stroke Saturday at the age 64. Loring’s daughter Vanessa Foumberg confirmed news of her mother’s passing to Variety.

“She went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands.” Foumberg told the publication.

Loring’s friend Laurie Jacobson also confirmed her death on Facebook, sharing that the actor experienced a “massive stroke” a few days ago and had been on life support. Jacobson’s post spoke of the actor's legacy in pop culture, adding that she is “in our hearts always as Wednesday Addams.”

Loring’s portrayal of Wednesday Addams from 1964 to 1966 has gained new recognition and fans worldwide thanks to the recent release of Netflix’s show “Wednesday,” which stars Jenna Ortega as the same character. The new Wednesday Addams recently offered her own version of Loring’s famous shimmying dance, dubbed the “The Drew,” inspiring a viral trend on social media apps like TikTok.

Ortega personally shouted out Loring, among other individuals, for the success of her dance scene in November. “Thanks to Siouxsie Sioux, Bob Fosse’s Rich Man’s Frug, Lisa Loring, Lene Lovich, Denis Lavant, and archival footage of goths dancing in clubs in the 80’s. Helped me out on this one,” she said on Twitter.