Award-winning actress Patricia Routledge, best known for playing housewife Hyacinth Bucket on the British television show “Keeping Up Appearances,” has died. She was 96.

Her agent, Max Massenbach, told the New York Times in a statement that she died in her sleep after a short illness.

“Even at 96 years old, Dame Patricia’s passion for her work and for connecting with live audiences never waned, just as new generations of audiences have continued to find her through her beloved television roles,” the statement said. “She will be dearly missed by those closest to her and by her devoted admirers around the world.”

Born in 1929, Routledge studied theater at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She made her Broadway debut in 1966 in “How’s the World Treating You.” She then won a Tony Award

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