Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress known for McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, died at 80 on October 26, 2026, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.The actress had spoken about her health challenges over the years in interviews, offering glimpses into parts of her life beyond television. PEOPLE reported on October 27, 2026, that Saint James had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer before her death, citing confirmation from her family.Susan Saint James' pancreatic cancer diagnosis and knee replacement surgeryAccording to PEOPLE, Susan Saint James died after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her family confirmed the diagnosis following her death, but the report did not specify the stage of the disease, the treatment she received, or when she was diagnosed.Further details about her final illness have not been publicly established in the information provided by her family.Saint James had also spoken about longstanding knee problems and the surgery she underwent to address them. In an account published by Dr. Richard Berger’s outpatient hip and knee surgery practice, she recalled injuring her knee after jumping off a fence when she was about 22, around 1966 or 1967.The injury damaged the cartilage, and she later underwent an operation that involved opening the knee and removing cartilage. She said the damage eventually contributed to arthritis and affected her ability to ski with her children.Susan Saint James subsequently sought knee replacement surgery after meeting someone who recommended a specialist in Chicago. In her account, she explained that she wanted to regain the strength and confidence needed to ski. She described the procedure as the best decision she had made, saying it allowed her to return to the activity she had missed.Variety @VarietyLINKSusan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress who starred opposite Rock Hudson in “McMillan & Wife” and Jane Curtin in the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie,” died Monday at 80 years old after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Saint James’ family described her as someone “generous with her time and energy, which she valued more than money, and instinctively drawn to whoever needed lifting up. She taught her children to pause, be kind and look out for other people. She never met a stranger. Every person she met became the most important person in the room at that moment, from a fellow board member to the clerk at the shoe store, who usually walked away knowing her entire life story.” (via People)Susan Saint James also spoke publicly about alcohol addictionA separate health challenge emerged after Susan Saint James stepped away from acting. In a report published on October 27, 2026, Parade revisited a 2010 interview with Connecticut Magazine in which she discussed struggling with alcohol after Kate & Allie ended in 1989.She had expected retirement and raising her children to bring satisfaction, but described finding the transition more difficult than anticipated.Saint James explained that she had spent much of her life working and receiving professional recognition. Losing that structure affected her sense of identity, and she eventually acknowledged that alcohol had become a way to cope with unhappiness.During therapy, her doctor asked her about her drinking. She later attended a 12-step meeting after a friend encouraged her to seek help. In the 2010 interview, Saint James said she had not had a drink in 11 years.Parade also reported that she later reflected on how recovery helped her and her family cope with the death of her youngest son, Teddy, who was 14 when he died in a 2004 plane crash.Susan Saint James was widely recognised for her television work, including The Name of the Game, for which she won an Emmy in 1969, and McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie. PEOPLE reported that she devoted much of her later life to her family and charitable work, particularly supporting Special Olympics.