ALLEE Wills, the Grammy Award-winning songwriter who helped write the theme song for sitcom Friends, has died aged 72.
Willis died after suffering a cardiac arrest.
She co-wrote I’ll Be There For You with band the Rembrandts in the early 1990s.
The song went on to become one of the most famous television theme songs of all time.
Willis also co-wrote the Earth, Wind & Fire hits September and Boogie Wonderland.
Her partner Prudence Fenton paid tribute on Instagram, saying: “Rest In Boogie Wonderland.”
Last year, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Born and raised in Detroit, she moved to New York in 1972 to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter.
Her hits have sold more than 60 million records around the world.
She also wrote the soundtrack for the film Beverly Hills Cop.
Wills initially wrote I’ll Be There For You as a short track especially for Friends as it was being readied for air in the US.
When the show went on to become a worldwide comedy smash, the song was extended with the help of the Rembrandts and released as a single.
She was also nominated for an Emmy for the track.
The Detroit-born songwriter won a Grammy and was nominated for an Emmy[/caption]
She wrote the theme song for the show before it was extended to a single[/caption]