'Jennifer was a remarkable woman': Tim Matheson pays tribute to ex-wife Jennifer Leak after The Young And The Restless star dies at 76

Actress Jennifer Leak passed away on March 18, at the age of 76. She was best known for her role as Gwen Sherman in the soap opera The Young And The Restless and as Colleen North in the 1968 movie Yours, Mine, and Ours. She worked in the film and television entertainment industry for more than two decades from 1964 to 1986.

Jennifer Leak was married to James D'Auria. Leak's ex-husband Tim Matheson, 76, has paid tribute in a Facebook post to the former actress. Matheson wrote:

"It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of Jennifer Leak's passing. She wasn't just my screen sister in "Yours, Mine and Ours," but also my beloved first wife. Jennifer was a remarkable woman, strong, lovely, and incredibly talented."

Tim Matheson further offered condolences to Leak's husband.

"My deepest condolences go out to her husband of 47 years, James D'Auria and their multitude of friends."

Leak passed away at her house in Jupiter, Florida. due to a rare neurological disease, progressive supranuclear palsy.

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A look at Jennifer Leak's life and career

Jennifer Leak was born in Wales on September 28, 1947. Her parents Kenneth Leak and Bernice Howard raised her in Hertfordshire, England; Nova Scotia; Toronto and Jerusalem.

Leak started her career with a Canadian television series Wojeck at the age of 17. She was later cast in Nichols's The Graduate but couldn't start the project because of immigration issues. She moved to Los Angeles and was soon cast in the movie Yours, Mine and Ours. In 1968, she married Tim Matheson, but the duo separated in 1971.

Meanwhile, Leak started doing nighttime Television shows which included Hawaii Five-0, Nero Wolfe, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She then transitioned to daytime soap operas which became her favorite medium according to her husband. She worked in TV soap operas Bright Promise and The Young and the Restless.

In 1977, Leak moved to New York for Another World. In New York, she met her husband James D'Auria whom she was married for 47 years until her death. She later worked in soap operas Guiding Light, and One Life to Live in the early 1980s. After her Television career, she started to work as a sales agent at the Devlin McNiff real estate company.

Leak's husband in his tribute described her as a shy and private person who hardly desired to be the center of attention. He said that she showed those traits only in front of the camera.

After the news of Leak's death, tributes have poured on social media remembering her career.

Before her death, Leak donated her brain tissue at the Mayo Clinic for further research into the rare disease. Her ashes would be buried at her childhood church in Rumney, Wales. She leaves behind her husband and her brother Kenneth Leak.