Lee Fierro, best known for her role in Jaws franchise, dies due of coronavirus complications aged 91

Actress Lee Fierro, best known for her role in the 1975 horror thriller classic Jaws, died on Sunday from coronavirus. She was 91. Fierro, who portrayed Alex Kintner’s (Jeffrey Voorhees) mom in Jaws, died of complications from the coronavirus, Kevin Ryan, artistic director and board president for the Island Theatre Workshop, told the Martha’s Vineyard Times. “We will miss her terribly. She spent 40 years here on the vineyard,” Ryan shared with Entertainment Tonight. “I’ve been working with her for 30 years here [on Marthas’s Vineyard] and three years since she moved [to Ohio].” Fierro’s character was the mother to Alex Kintner (Jeffrey Voorhees), the second victim of the great white shark in Jaws. In the 1975 film, her son was attacked off the shore of Amity Island, and she walks up to police chief Brody (Roy Scheider) and slaps him in a memorable scene. She also reprises her role as the character in Jaws: The Revenge in 1987. Check out the famous scene here

Lee Fierro, who played Mrs. Kintner in 'Jaws' has died at age 91 due to the coronavirus.

In 'Jaws,' Fierro played a mom whose son was killed by a shark.

In this famous scene, she slaps Chief Brody for not taking the threat of a shark seriously. https://t.co/uzmZrhnL3F pic.twitter.com/Qr7UDxMjsV

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 5, 2020

Though Fierro didn’t have many acting credits outside of the Jaws franchise, she spent more than 25 years as artistic director of the Island Theatre Workshop and continued to assist there well into her 80s. During her time with the Workshop, Fierro taught over 1000 students and directed over 100 live productions. According to the report, Fierro’s family will hold a small ceremony in her honor because of social distancing restrictions. Fierro is survived by her five children, seven grand-children and seven great-grandchildren.