Lisa Banes, ‘Gone Girl’ and ‘Nashville’ Actress, Dead at 65

Actress Lisa Banes has died following a hit-and-run incident in New York City. Known for her roles in Gone Girl and Nashville, among several others, Banes had been in critical condition at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital after she suffered a traumatic brain injury after she was the victim of a hit-and-run incident involving a bicycle or scooter on June 4. She passed away Monday, June 14 at the age of 65.

Banes had been crossing the street to meet her wife, Kathryn Kranhold, for a dinner party at a friend’s home near Lincoln Center when a scooter or bicycle ran a red light and struck her at around 6:30 p.m. Friday night. According to the New York Police Department, when officers responded to the scene, they found a 65-year-old “woman with severe head trauma” in the roadway. At the time, Banes’ manager, David Williams, said “the driver did not stop but continued.” Banes was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was said to be in critical condition. She passed away Monday, Williams confirmed.

“We are heartsick over Lisa’s tragic and senseless passing,” Williams confirmed Banes’ passing in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “She was a woman of great spirit, kindness and generosity and dedicated to her work, whether on stage or in front of a camera and even more so to her wife, family and friends. We were blessed to have had her in our lives.”

The Monday evening news devastated fans and those who had worked with Banes, many of whom took to social media to pay tribute to Banes. Seth MacFarlane tweeted that he is “deeply saddened at the news” of Banes’ death, adding that they “had the good fortune to work with her on The Orville this past year.” MacFarlane said Banes’ “stage presence, magnetism, skill and talent were matched only by her unwavering kindness and graciousness toward all of us. A tremendous loss…” One fan remembered her as “an immensely talented Hollywood actress.”

Born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and raised in Colorado, Banes studied acting at Juilliard in New York City before she began acting in movies and television in the mid-1980s. She earned a Drama Desk Award nomination in 1984 for Isn’t It Romantic? She was well known for portraying Tom Cruise’s older love interest in 1988’s Cocktail. She was also well known for portraying Rosamund Pike’s onscreen mother in Gone Girl. Her other credits include Six Feet Under, The Good Wife, King of Queens, One Life to Live, Masters of Sex, Madam Secretary, and Once Upon a Time.