Elizabeth Franz Dead of Cancer: Tony-Winning Actress Was 84

Elizabeth Franz, known for her atypical and decorated take on Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman, has died. She was 84.

The Tony-winning actress, born Elizabeth Jean Frankovitch, died on Nov. 4 at her home in Woodbury, Conn., her husband, screenwriter Christopher Pelham, confirmed to The New York Times for a story published on Nov. 15.

Franz’s cause of death was cancer and a severe reaction to drugs being used to treat her, The Times reported, citing Pelham.

PEOPLE reached out to a representative for Franz for comment on Nov. 15, but did not receive an immediate response.

The Ohio-born actress was perhaps best known for take on Linda, the wife of Brian Dennehy’s Willy Loman, in a 50th anniversary production of Death of a Salesman, which earned her a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play in 1999.

Franz’s spin on the Death of a Salesman character marked a departure from the character’s typically defeated demeanor. She took a more assertive — and more sensual — approach, earning high praise from playwright Arthur Miller.

In a 1999 Times feature about the 50th anniversary production — which won four Tonys, including Franz’s — Miller said that Franz had “discovered in the role the basic underlying powerful protectiveness, which comes out as fury, and that in the past, in every performance I know of, was simply washed out.”

On Linda and Willy’s “sexual bond,” as Franz once described it in an interview, the late Death of a Salesman playwright told The Times: “I always assumed was there, but here it is far more emphasized — correctly.”

Elaborating on the bond, which she brought to the forefront with her memorable performance, Franz told The Times it was something she couldn’t deny. “You can say anything because you know in the end you’re going be in that bed, curled up and having the most wonderful conversations,” she said of the characters. “When she’s curled up in his arms and she’s singing to him — you can’t tell me that isn’t a very sexual moment.”’

While discussing Death of a Salesman for the 1999 Times feature, Franz also opened up about her upbringing in Akron, Ohio.

Her father was a tire factory worker and her mother was a waitress who suffered from mental illness. Her behavior frightened Franz during her childhood, she told the outlet. “My grandmother would hide me in her closet,” she recalled at the time. ” ‘I remember holding onto my father and saying, ‘She’ll come back.’ ”

Alongside Dennehy, Franz later reprised the role of Linda in a TV adaptation of Death of a Salesman in 2000. She earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for the reprisal.

Franz previously received a Tony nomination at the 1983 show for her performance as Matthew Broderick’s onstage mother in Brighton Beach Memoirs. She later earned another nod at the 2002 ceremony for Morning’s at Seven.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Franz appeared in other Broadway productions throughout her career, including The Cherry Orchard, The Octette Bridge Club, The Cemetery Club, Getting Married and Uncle Vanya. Her final role on Broadway was Aunt Ev in The Miracle Worker, which ran from March to April 2010.

She also appeared in films, including the 1995 Sabrina remake and Christmas With the Kranks, and had various TV credits, including a memorable 2004 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and guest appearances on Gilmore Girls, Roseanne and Grey’s Anatomy. Her final onscreen role came in 2015 film Take Me to the River.

In addition to Pelham, Franz is survived by her brother, Joe. She was previously married to famed character actor Edward Binns prior to his death in 1990.