Kim McGuire, best known for playing Mona “Hatchet-Face” Malnorowski in the John Waters film “Cry-Baby,” has died. She was 60.
The former actress became sick earlier this week, and was eventually admitted to a Florida hospital on Tuesday, her husband Gene told TMZ. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, but failed to respond to treatment, and died on Wednesday.
McGuire was born in New Orleans in 1955. She originally intended to follow her father into practicing law, but found herself drawn to acting.
“Cry-Baby,” which starred Johnny Depp as teen greaser with the ability to shed a single tear on command, would be her first onscreen role in 1990. While the film was not a breakout success, it enjoys a strong cult status like many of Waters’ other works.
That same year, she appeared in the horror thriller “Disturbed” opposite Malcolm McDowell as a doctor who sexually assaulted a patient, only for the patient’s daughter to turn up seeking revenge.
McGuire also appeared in the short-lived Mark Frost/David Lynch series “On the Air,” about a group of performer trying to stage a live variety show.
McGuire’s last credited onscreen role came in 1996, and she did eventually move on to a career in law as she had originally planned. She passed the bar in California and became an entertainment and appellate lawyer. She also passed the bar in Alabama, specializing in family law.
She married Emmy winning TV producer Gene Piotrowsky and the two eventually settled in New Orleans. However, when Hurricane Katrina struck the city in 2005, McGuire and Piotrowsky’s home was destroyed and most of their possessions were washed away in the deluge.