LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Emmy Award-winning  actress Bea Arthur, best known as star of the hit TV comedies  “Maude” and “Golden Girls,” has died at age 86, entertainment  news websites reported on Saturday.

Arthur, a longtime stage actress whose comic timing and  deadpan delivery were a perfect fit for her sharp-tongued roles  on the two series, died of cancer at her Los Angeles home,  celebrity website TMZ reported.

Representatives for the actress, who won best-actress Emmys  — America’s top television award — for both “Maude” and  “Golden Girls,” could not immediately be reached for comment.  CNN also reported her death.

Born Beatrice Frankel in New York on May 13, 1922, Arthur  began performing in college and appeared in a number of  Broadway and off-Broadway roles, winning a Tony Award opposite  Angela Lansbury in “Mame.”

In the early 1970s, Arthur appeared on the groundbreaking  television comedy “All in the Family” as Edith Bunker’s  fiercely liberal cousin Maude, and producers who saw gold in  the role quickly devised a spinoff for the character.

“Maude” debuted on CBS in 1972 and became one of the  top-rated sitcoms on U.S. television during its six-season  run.

Arthur followed that show with “Golden Girls,” an unlikely  hit from 1985 to 1992 that featured four female retirees living  together.