After spending a week on life support at Mount Sinai hospital in Manhattan, we’re sad to report that Joan Rivers has passed away. The legendary comedienne had suffered a cardiac arrest last week while undergoing throat surgery and had been rushed to the hospital, where her condition remained uncertain. Ultimately, a difficult decision had to be made and she was taken off life support in a private room where she passed comfortably while surrounded by her family and close friends. She was 81 years old. Her daughter Melissa Rivers released the following statement earlier today:

“It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers. She passed peacefully at 1:17 PM surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff of Mount Sinai hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother. Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support and prayers we have received from around the world.They have been heard and appreciated. My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon.”

Joan Rivers, born Joan Alexandra Molinsky, began her acting career in the 1950s, but soon started to make a name for herself by doing stand up comedy around various clubs in New York City in the early 1960s. She stood out as one of the first women to take on the boys’ club of comedy, and after appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, her career really took off. She was soon appearing on many different comedy and variety shows on TV, eventually landing her own talk show in the ’80s, becoming the first woman to do so.

Known for her racy and sometimes controversial put-downs, Rivers also found she had a unique talent for skewering Hollywood stars on the red carpet, and throughout the 2000s, she also appeared on plenty of reality TV shows, including a winning run on Celebrity Apprentice and her own show with her daughter, Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?. She also wasn’t shy about her quest to remain forever young through the help of plastic surgery, as seen in the documentary Joan Rivers: Piece of Work. She will most definitely be missed. What will you remember most about Joan Rivers?