Celebrity
TV Icon Sally Struthers Is 79 and Still Doing What She Loves
Sally Struthers turns 79, celebrating 55+ years in Hollywood. Known for ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Gilmore Girls,’ she remains actively working.
Beloved actress Sally Struthers celebrated her 79th birthday on July 28, marking more than five decades in Hollywood. While many still know her as Gloria Bunker on All in the Family, younger viewers often recognize her as Babette on Gilmore Girls. She isn’t retiring yet, adding new roles consistently to her resume.
Struthers has had nearly 80 acting roles since her career began over 55 years ago. However, her work on All in the Family and Gilmore Girls is the ones that most frequently have fans stopping in their tracks when they see her.
In 2024, Struthers told Page Six, “It just tickles me pink to reach two generations and be so well known for a character differently between a mother and a daughter, it’s delightful. I mean, who gets a chance at … I feel like I’ve gotten [the brass ring] twice.”
Fans celebrated the Emmy-winning Struthers and her decades of work on her 79th birthday.
On Reddit, one fan noted they saw Struthers performing at a dinner theater last year and shared, “She was funny as h***!”
Another Reddit user wrote, “I feel like no other actress could have played that role so perfectly,” referring to All in the Family.
Someone else added, “So many memories of this show. Learned a lot through them. Happy Birthday Gloria!”
Although her most memorable acting roles may be years in the past, Struthers has not retired. These days, she is mostly focused on theater roles. In late 2025, she played Mrs. Peck in An Old-Fashioned Family Murder.
She told People, “I love doing theater because it’s not for sissies…But when you’re on stage, you have to know an entire performance from beginning to end without stopping.”
In addition to throwing herself into theater for recent projects, Struthers joined Season 2 of Ted Danson‘s Netflix series, A Man on the Inside.
Struthers said she always has offers for theater gigs coming in, and she generally doesn’t have to audition anymore. “It’s the most wonderful, delicious existence in the world,” she gushed.
While Struthers struggled at times with the fame over the years, ultimately, she told Page Six, “Over the years the gratitude has grown because it continues to open doors.”
She clarified that she wasn’t bragging. “I’m always dumbfounded” by the offers that pour in for her, and she knows her work on All in the Family 55 years ago paved the way to her success.
