The gala to support The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health and raise awareness about aortic dissection, Ritter’s cause of death, was held Thursday night
Kaley Cuoco is honoring her late TV dad!
The actress, 38, dressed to the nines at An Evening from the Heart, a gala presented by The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health on Thursday, May 9 at Sunset Room Hollywood in Los Angeles.
The event celebrated the life and legacy of Cuoco’s 8 Simple Rules costar John Ritter, who died in 2003 at the age of 54 of a “misdiagnosed acute aortic dissection,” according to the foundation’s website.
“He touched a lot of lives,” Cuoco tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview at the event. Cuoco said she became very close to Ritter’s family, who has “worked very hard” for the past two decades to bring awareness to aortic dissection.