Jennifer Love Hewitt’s mother Patricia died at age 67 on June 12, following a battle with cancer, the actress’ rep confirmed.
“Her family mourns her loss,” Hewitt’s rep told People magazine. “She was an angel to all who knew her and they are grateful she is now in a better place. They ask for privacy at this difficult time. No further details are being provided.”
Hewitt kept her mother’s illness private and has yet to comment on her heartbreak.
The 33-year-old actress’ Lifetime series, “The Client List” recently got renewed for a second season. Its debut season finale is set to air on Sunday, June 17.
In “The Client List,” which aired as a movie on the cable network in 2010, Hewitt plays a struggling Texas housewife who starts working at a massage parlor after her husband leaves her and their children. The parlor secretly operates as a more than just a massage spa, offering sex services to powerful male clients.
Hewitt told People that her mother thought her role as a prostitute was “hilarious” and joked that she should go more family-friendly in the future.
“She was like, ‘So let’s review … For 15 years people have been talking about your boobs. Earlier this year, you wrote about your hoo haw in a book. Now you’re playing a crack ho on TV,'” Hewitt recalled. “She was like, ‘Do you think maybe you could do an animated movie next?'”
The show co-stars Cybill Shepherd, Colin Egglesfield and Loretta Devine. It has averaged around 2.7 million viewers weekly, making it the most-watched series on Lifetime since “Drop Dead Diva.”
Hewitt rose to fame playing Sarah Reeves on the family drama series “Party of Five” in the 1990s. She later starred in a spin-off, “Time of Your Life” and also appeared in movies such as “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Can’t Hardly Wait” and “Heartbreakers.” She also played main character Melinda Gordon “Ghost Whisperer,” which ran on CBS between 2005 and 2010.