Jan Hooks, a former Saturday Night Live cast member, died on Thursday in New York. She was 57.

Jan Hooks Dies

Hooks' death was confirmed by her representative Lisa Lieberman to CNN. She had apparently been suffering from a serious illness.

Hooks is best known for her stint on Saturday Night Live, which ran from 1986-1991. On the sketch show, Hooks took on a number of notable impersonations, including Hillary Clinton, Kathy Lee Gifford, Bette Davis and Jodie Foster. Her most memorable role on the show, however, was probably as Candy Sweeney, one half of the popular Sweeney Sisters with Nora Dunn.

Back in 1980, Hooks, a native of Georgia, got her start on The Bill Tush Show and later landed a role on TV series Not Necessarily the News. She went on to appear in features Wildcats, Funland and Batman Returns and star in Designing Women as Carlene Frazier Dobber.

Following her run on SNL, Hooks had a number of recurring roles on TV shows, including The Martin Short Show, Hiller and Diller, 3rd Rock from the Sun and 30 Rock. She also voiced Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon on The Simpsons.

"Jan Hooks was an enormous part of my life," actor Kevin Nealon told the Los Angeles Times. "We shared some amazing times; our years as friends, then dating and then the incredible rush of being on Saturday Night Live together."

"I only wish she knew how well respected and admired she was," he said. "This is such a loss."