Camilla Carr the Texas-born actress best known for her work in cult 1970s horror films and a memorable role on Designing Women has died at the age of 83.

Carr died Wednesday in El Paso, Texas, from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease and a dislocated hip.

The details about her death were confirmed by her son, writer and artist Caley O’Dwyer.

Carr built a distinctive career in low-budget exploitation cinema appearing in three films directed by S.F. Brownrigg: Don’t Look in the Basement (1973), Poor White Trash Part II (1974), and Keep My Grave Open (1977).

In Don’t Look in the Basement she played an unhinged mental patient who kills a nurse while Poor White Trash Part II saw her as a manipulative hillbilly daughter.

Her lead role in Keep My Grave Open featured a woman suffering from a murderous split personality.

All three films later gained cult status for their unsettling tone and resourceful filmmaking.

She also made a notable television appearance on CBS’ Designing Women in 1987.

Carr portrayed a Sugarbaker client who makes a cruel remark about AIDS victims saying, “As far as I’m concerned, this disease has one thing going for it: It’s killing all the right people.”

The episode written by series creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason tackled stigma surrounding AIDS and earned Thomason an Emmy nomination.

“It was a shitty character, but she did a great job for an important cause,” O’Dwyer said.

Born on September 17, 1942, in Memphis, Texas, Carr attended Kermit High School and the University of North Texas.

She worked extensively in theatre and appeared in films including Logan’s Run (1976) and A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970).

Her television credits included Falcon Crest, One Day at a Time, and Another World.

Carr also wrote the 1989 comic novel Topsy Turvy Dingo Dog and returned briefly to acting in 2015 for Don’t Look in the Basement 2.