( CNN ) -- Actress Jean Stapleton , best known for her role as Archie Bunker 's wife in the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom `` All in the Family , '' has died , her son said Saturday . She was 90 years old . Her son John Putch told CNN about her passing and , along with his sister Pamela Putch , wrote an obituary saying that she `` passed away peacefully of natural causes '' on Friday at her New York City home `` surrounded by friends and her immediate family . '' `` No one gave more profound 'how to be a human being ' lessons than Jean Stapleton , '' said Norman Lear , who produced and directed `` All in the Family . '' `` Goodbye Edith , darling . '' The daughter of an opera singer and businessman , Stapleton grew up on Long Island and in New York City . It was there during the early 1940s , while working as a typist for the British War Ministry Office , that she began her career in theater . Share you memories . Stapleton made it to Broadway in the production `` In the Summer House '' in 1953 , the same year of her television debut on the daytime drama `` Woman With a Past . '' Other big stage roles followed , including in `` Bells Are Ringing '' and `` Damn Yankees . '' She also did more and more television , including appearances on shows such as `` Philco TV Playhouse '' and `` Dr . Kildare . '' Her breakout role was as Edith Bunker , the conscience of `` All in the Family '' as the kindhearted foil to husband Archie , played by the late Carroll O'Connor . `` All in the Family '' was one of television 's most popular shows as it broke ground while tackling a host of social issues such as racism , sexuality , life and death . Edith Bunker , played by Stapleton , for instance revealed that she had breast cancer on the show , a rare occurrence at the time . `` I just loved doing it from the very beginning , '' Stapleton told CNN in 2001 , shortly after O'Connor 's death . She won three Emmy awards -- in 1971 , 1972 and 1978 , in addition to five other nominations in which he she fell short -- for her performance in that Lear-helmed show . Entertainers mourn Stapleton : ' A great actress and a wonderful lady ' `` Jean was a brilliant comedienne with exquisite timing , '' said Rob Reiner , who played the Bunkers ' son-in-law referred to as `` Meathead '' on the show . `` Working with her was one of the greatest experiences of my life . '' Stapleton kept busy after the show went off in the air in 1979 and kept on racking up more accomplishments . Those include Emmy nominations in 1982 for playing Eleanor Roosevelt in the CBS miniseries `` Eleanor , First Lady of the World '' and in 1995 as Aunt Vivian in a guest spot on the ABC comedy `` Grace Under Fire . '' `` RIP Jean Stapleton , '' tweeted fellow TV comedy veteran Roseanne Barr , `` a great actor whose range was unbelievable , deep and majestic . '' In 2002 she was chosen for the Television Academy Hall of Fame , joining the likes of Tim Conway and Bob Mackie in that organization 's 15th induction class . Her most recent on-screen credits , according to the IMDB website , are from 2001 when she appeared in the film `` Pursuit of Happiness '' and the TV movie `` Like Mother Like Son : The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes '' along with Mary Tyler Moore . And after `` All in the Family , '' she continued working in theater , including a nationwide tour as Roosevelt in her one-woman show `` Eleanor : Her Secret Journey , '' the Broadway revival of `` Arsenic and Lace '' and Obie Award performances in Harold Pinter 's `` Mountain Language '' and `` The Birthday Party . '' Her final stage appearance was in `` The Carpetbagger 's Children '' a few blocks from her home in New York , to which she returned permanently in 2002 . Calling her `` our collective Mother , with a capital M , '' John and Pamela Putch -- Stapleton 's two children with her husband William Putch , whom she married in 1957 and who died in 1983 -- said `` her devotion to her craft and her family taught us all great lessons . '' `` In her own words , she was an 'actress , ' not a celebrity , '' they wrote in her obituary . `` The play always came first . '' People we lost in 2013 : The lives they lived . CNN 's KJ Matthews contributed to this report .
NEW : `` Working with her was one of the greatest experiences of my life , '' Rob Reiner says . Jean Stapleton won 3 Emmy awards for her role as Edith Bunker . She died `` peacefully '' at her New York City home , her family says . Stapleton was a stage actress who went on to star in television .