Melissa Rivers’ statement on the death of her mother, Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers, who died Thursday at 81, was noth­ing if not am­bi­tious. The comedi­an who had star­ted out telling jokes at Green­wich Vil­lage nightclubs in the 1960s re­in­ven­ted her­self as an acerbic red-car­pet host for E! En­ter­tain­ment, skew­er­ing celebrit­ies and their fash­ion choices with help from her sidekick and only child, Melissa Rivers. Along the way, the pair helped build pre-awards show host­ing in­to a cot­tage in­dustry.

Her sur­viv­ors in­clude her daugh­ter, who an­nounced her death, and a grand­son, Cooper.

Here is Melissa Rivers’ state­ment.