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Hollywood & Entertainment Bunny Levine, Actress In ‘Jury Duty,’ ‘Thelma’ And 3 Adam Sandler Movies, Dies At 97 By Tim Lammers ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover Hollywood and entertainment. Follow Author Aug 22, 2026, 10:48pm EDT Aug 22, 2026, 11:42pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Prolific character actress Bunny Levine, known for her roles in three Adam Sandler movies and extensive guest appearances across television, has died at 97. Her representative confirmed she passed away Tuesday at her Tarzana, California home, with authorities indicating natural causes. Levine embarked on her acting career at age 60, after serving as a school librarian, and went on to appear in over 100 screen projects. Her diverse filmography includes Sandler's "You Don’t Mess with the Zohan" and "You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah," as well as recent work in the 2024 action comedy "Thelma." On television, she graced shows like "Jury Duty," "Gilmore Girls," "Chappelle’s Show," "Shameless," "Law & Order," and "Community," becoming a recognizable face throughout her nearly four-decade career."
Bunny Levine, a prolific character actress who appeared in three Adam Sandler movies and had guest roles in Jury Duty , Gilmore Girls, Chappelle’s Show and Shameless , has died.
Levine’s representative, Mike Eisenstadt, told NBC Los Angeles that the actress died Tuesday at her home in Tarzana, Calif. She was 97. According to NBC LA , the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a report about an unresponsive person at Levine’s residence and believes that the actress died from natural causes.
According to NBC LA , Levine was a school librarian before she decided to get into acting. Born Bernice Levine on Dec. 22, 1928, in East Orange, N.J., Levine’s first screen role was in 1988, when she was hired to play a supporting role for the B-horror movie Slime City.
After that, Levine appeared in more than 100 screen projects, including roles in the Sandler movies You Don’t Mess with the Zohan , You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah and Sandy Wexler (in an uncredited role).
More recently, Levine starred opposite June Squibb and Richard Roundtree in the 2024 action comedy Thelma . In the 2023 Freevee/Prime Video reality/scripted comedy Jury Dury , Levine played a prospective juror in two episodes.
Throughout her nearly four-decades-long career, Bunny Levine appeared in dozens of guest roles on television. Among them were Law & Order , As the World Turns , Chappelle’s Show , Gilmore Girls , Ugly Betty , Private Practice , Gary Unmarried , Community, Criminal Minds, Men of a Certain Age, 2 Broke Girls, Happy Endings and Raising Hope .
Additionally, Levine played guest roles in Have You Met Miss Jones?, Southland, The Middle, New Girl, Mulaney, Bad Judge, Workaholics, The Mindy Project, Fuller House, Shameless, Mayans, M.C., Dave, The Upshaws and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
Levine also appeared in such films as Cadillac Man, A Thousand Words, La La Land, Sacramento and The Invisible Raptor. The actress’ last film role was in the 2026 indie David Dastmalchian horror thriller The Cure.
According to her self-authored IMDb profile, Levine “put her acting aspirations on the back burner for 25 years, working primarily as a school librarian, to help her underpaid college professor husband raise their three children.”
Bunny Levine’s husband, Bernard Levine, died in 2003.
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