Girls5Eva star Busy Philipps is famously best friends with five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams, but she just lost an even older, dearer friend - Kate Cooper Serge - to an undisclosed five-month illness at age 44.
On Thursday, the Illinois-born 44-year-old Instastoried a teary selfie and posted a long heartfelt message about the death of the 'beautiful' New Jersey-based educator, who's 'no longer in pain' after enduring 'the most unfair battle any of us could imagine.'
Busy (born Elizabeth) remarked about how Kate was the 'best mom' to two 'beautiful' sons from her marriage to 'one of the truly great ones' Larry Serge.
'I have so many things to say about your beautiful, shining, gigantic, megawatt soul (like your perfect smile) that radiated so brightly from within you that everyone who came in contact with immediately felt and fell in love with,' Philipps - who boasts 2.8M social media followers - wrote on Thursday.
'But this is Instagram so I won't say them all. But truly, thank god I was able to say them all to you in these past five months. Your grace, your wisdom, your taste, your talent, your creativity, your insane sense of humor, your laugh, your laugh, your laugh. The ease with which you would so clearly see things in a new way. Your absolute fearlessness.'
1996-2023: Girls5Eva star Busy Philipps (R) is famously best friends with five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams, but she just lost an even older, dearer friend - Kate Cooper Serge (L) - to an undisclosed five-month illness at age 44
Grieving: On Thursday, the Illinois-born 44-year-old Instastoried a teary selfie and posted a long heartfelt message about the death of the 'beautiful' New Jersey-based educator, who's 'no longer in pain' after enduring 'the most unfair battle any of us could imagine'
The Doing Her Best podcaster went on to write that Serge was 'the most truthful human' she'd ever known as well as the 'greatest, most loyal, and thoughtful.'
'A friend who, in the midst of the most unfair battle any of us could imagine, was hugging and comforting *me* about something I was going through,' Busy recalled.
'Good lord. I had to apologize [for] my ridiculousness. And then we were laughing because your laugh. My sweet girl, you were more than just a sparkly person - you shined like the goddamn sun. It's the honor of my existence that you called me your best friend for the past 30 years.
'It wasn't nearly enough time on earth, and honey, I'm so so sorry you had to leave the party early but I promise you that I will do all the things. And I know you'll do all of the things where you are now bathed in that light.'
Philipps vowed to start watching Max's And Just Like that so their mutual friend Christine 'has someone to call and scream with about it.'
'Earlier this week, I said: "I feel like the boy who cried wolf except I'm just the girl who cried about everything. But now it turns out, I didn't know the half of heartbreak like this,"' the Single Drunk Female actress concluded.
'I love you, my girl. Thank you for picking me all those years ago. I'm so blessed to have had your love in my life.'
Busy's Instagram slideshow received concerned condolence comments from Emmy nominee Mandy Moore, Emmy nominee Constance Zimmer, her Mean Girls: The Musical co-star Reneé Rapp, her former Busy Tonight writer Kelly Oxford, and Jason Biggs' wife Jenny Mollen.
RIP: Busy (born Elizabeth) remarked about how Kate was the 'best mom' to two 'beautiful' sons from her marriage to 'one of the truly great ones' Larry Serge
Philipps - who boasts 2.8M social media followers - wrote on Thursday: 'I have so many things to say about your beautiful, shining, gigantic, megawatt soul (like your perfect smile) that radiated so brightly from within you that everyone who came in contact with immediately felt and fell in love with'
'You shined like the goddamn sun': The Doing Her Best podcaster went on to write that Serge was 'the most truthful human' she'd ever known as well as the 'greatest, most loyal, and thoughtful'
'It's the honor of my existence that you called me your best friend for the past 30 years': Busy vowed to start watching Max's And Just Like that so their mutual friend Christine (L) 'has someone to call and scream with about it'
'Sending you so much love': Philipps' Instagram slideshow received concerned condolence comments from Emmy nominee Mandy Moore, Emmy nominee Constance Zimmer, her Mean Girls: The Musical co-star Reneé Rapp, her former Busy Tonight writer Kelly Oxford, and Jason Biggs' wife Jenny Mollen
Philipps' grieving post came the day after she revealed that she and estranged husband Marc Silverstein made the difficult decision to send their eldest child Birdie Leigh away to boarding school for the next two years.
But the DC League of Super-Pets star feels confident that the 15-year-old - who identifies as 'femme-presenting non-binary' and came out as a lesbian at age 10 - is 'such a strong individual.'
'She's such a smart, unique person that I feel really confident in her ability to succeed in whatever situation she's in,' Busy told People on Wednesday.
'I'm still in the process of dealing with it myself as a mom who, of course, just wants my babies to stay close to me.'
Philipps added: 'One thing I also took into consideration is that these kids have been through a really intense few years with the pandemic and essentially being stuck in the house with their parents. So maybe it's not a bad thing for Birdie to go live with some other kids and have that socialization that maybe was missed out on a bit during the pandemic.'
The Freaks and Geeks alum and the 52-year-old I Feel Pretty director - who legally separated in February 2021 after 13 years of marriage - are also parents of 10-year-old daughter Cricket Pearl.
Busy will next play Mrs. George in Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.'s film adaptation of Broadway's Mean Girls: The Musical for Paramount+, which wrapped production on April 29.
The movie will also feature screenwriter Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Jon Hamm, Jenna Fischer, Angourie Rice, and Auli'i Cravalho.
But with the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it's unclear when Philipps will finally get to reprise her role as Summer Dutkowsky in the third season of Girls5eva, which was canceled by Peacock but picked up by Netflix on October 27.
Creator Meredith Scardino's critically-acclaimed musical comedy about a one-hit wonder nineties girl group - executive produced by Tina Fey and her husband Jeff Richmond - also stars Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sara Bareilles, and Paula Pell.
2021 family portrait: The DC League of Super-Pets star grieving post came the day after she revealed that she and estranged husband Marc Silverstein (2-R) made the difficult decision to send their eldest child Birdie Leigh (R) away to boarding school for the next two years
Busy told People on Wednesday: 'She's such a smart, unique person that I feel really confident in her ability to succeed in whatever situation she's in...I'm still in the process of dealing with it myself as a mom who, of course, just wants my babies to stay close to me' (pictured August 14)
Amicable exes: Philipps and the 52-year-old I Feel Pretty director - who legally separated in February 2021 after 13 years of marriage - are also parents of 10-year-old daughter Cricket Pearl (R, pictured August 14)
Wrapped production on April 29! The Freaks and Geeks alum will next play Mrs. George in Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.'s film adaptation of Broadway's Mean Girls: The Musical for Paramount+ (pictured March 1)
'The best job I've ever had': But with the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it's unclear when Busy will finally get to reprise her role as Summer Dutkowsky in the third season of Girls5eva, which was canceled by Peacock but picked up by Netflix on October 27
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKymqLWww8GisWiZoqm2pLjEZmhrbGRpf3KFjnusrLFdhbWquMipp6xlmJqus8DBq6aknZ5iubC%2F0maZnpmlqbanwctmeX9%2BXWh9bsXEmqmsZXuWwaZ5oqimqZ2iYqCmvsaeZIKlXZe5pr%2FSnptmpJ%2Brsm64yJ%2BcZ6Ckork%3D