Stars react to Gwen Ifill's tragic death at age 61

Veteran newscaster and host of "PBS Newshour" Gwen Ifill passed away on Monday at the age of 61. She had been battling cancer.

Her legendary career garnered her respect from her peers as skilled journalist and prominent woman of color in her field.

SEE ALSO: Veteran newscaster Gwen Ifill dies at 61

When news broke on Monday, hearts broke around the world and her fellow journalists, newscasters and politicians took to social media to pay their respects to Ifill, many calling her a friend and noting that she deserved every bit of praise that she had earned throughout her award-winning career.

See how people reacted below:

In addition to working at PBS since 1999, Ifill had also spent time working for the country's most respected news outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBC News.

See photos of Gwen Ifill throughout her renowned career:

More from AOL.com:
Alec Baldwin claims NBC refused to let 'SNL' endorse Clinton
Soccer star Abby Wambach is dating famous Christian mommy blogger, Glennon Doyle Melton
Billy Bush reportedly being recruited by 'alt-right' news website Breitbart