( CNN ) -- Actress Dixie Carter , best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker on the TV show `` Designing Women , '' has died , her agent said Saturday . She was 70 . She was 70 . Carter died from complications arising from cancer , her publicist , Steve Rohr , said Sunday . Carter was drawn to roles portraying steely Southern women . One of her more recent roles included a guest appearance on the show `` Desperate Housewives , '' for which she was nominated for an Emmy in 2007 . `` This has been a terrible blow to our family , '' her husband , the actor Hal Holbrook , told `` Entertainment Tonight . '' `` We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy . '' Carter and Holbrook met while filming the CBS-TV movie , `` The Killing of Randy Webster . '' Carter was born in 1939 in McLemoresville , Tennessee . In addition to her role as feisty Julia Sugarbaker , she 's been on other television series including `` Family Law '' and `` Diff'rent Strokes . '' She also had a long career on Broadway and appeared on stage in `` Southern Comforts '' with her husband in 2006 . In addition to Holbrook , to whom she has been married since 1984 , Carter is survived by two daughters , Mary Dixie and Ginna . According to Rohr , Carter suffered from endometrial cancer , which forms in the the tissue lining the uterus .
" Jack Carter dead at 70 , agent told reporters . Carter was best known for starring as Julia Sugarbaker on ` ` Designing Women '' Carter was married to fellow actor Hal Holbrook .