Gilligan's Island star Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, dies of Covid

Dawn Wells has died aged 82. Photo / Getty Images

Dawn Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann among a misfit band of shipwrecked castaways on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island, died on Wednesday of causes related to Covid-19, her publicist said.

The TV star was 82 years old.

Wells died peacefully at a living facility in Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll said.

"There is so much more to Dawn Wells" than the "Gilligan's Island" character that brought her fame, Boll said in a statement.

Besides TV, film and stage acting credits, her other real-life roles included teacher and motivational speaker, Boll said.

Born in Reno, Nevada, Wells represented her state in the 1959 Miss America pageant and quickly pivoted to an acting career. Her early TV roles came on shows including 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick and Bonanza.

Then came Gilligan's Island, a goofy, good-natured show that became an unlikely but indelible part of popular culture.

Wells starred as Mary Ann throughout the three-season run of Gilligan's Island from 1964 to 1967. The iconic CBS sitcom centres on an eclectic group stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean after the SS Minnow charter boat becomes shipwrecked in a typhoon during a three-hour tour.

With Wells' death, 86-year-old Tina Louise, who played Ginger, is the last surviving cast member of the show.