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Cosmetic dermatologist to the stars Fredric Brandt was found dead at his Coconut Grove home in Miami on Sunday, aged 65
Ripa tweeted: 'My heart is breaking for the loss of Dr. Fredric Brandt. My friend. You will be missed forever and in my heart even longer'
On Live With Kelly & Michael the 44-year-old said, 'He was a great man'

By Heidi Parker and Louise Boyle For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:07 EST, 7 April 2015 | Updated: 12:35 EST, 7 April 2015

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Kelly Ripa has been grief stricken following the sad news that her friend, cosmetic surgeon Dr Fredric Brandt, was found dead by suicide at his Miami mansion on Sunday.

So it's understandable that 44-year-old TV star was looking morose as she left her New York City apartment on Tuesday. The Live With Kelly & Michael co-host, who is usually seen smiling, wore a frown as she left the building alone.

When appearing on her morning show she said, 'He was such a great man... he was just a great person, a great friend, he will be missed - I cannot tell you how much I will miss him. I will miss him every day of my life.'

Sad day: Kelly Ripa looked to be in mourning on Tuesday as she left her NYC apartment; on Sunday it was announced her surgeon friend Dr Fredric Brandt had died

The personality added, 'If you love someone tell them every day that you love them because you don't know if you will have that opportunity.... It's sad. Oh my gosh, he was just the best. He would sing to you while he put Botox in your face - any song you wanted. He could sing anything at a moment's notice.'

The former soap opera actress was dressed casually in a yellow sweater and worn-in jeans. Comfortable short beige boots and aviators completed her look.

It seemed as if Ripa had wet hair and hardly any makeup on. The beauty was carrying her coat as well as some papers, a cell phone and her purse.

Casual look: The former soap opera actress was dressed down in a yellow sweater and worn-in jeans. Comfortable short beige boots and aviators completed her look. It seemed as if Ripa had wet hair and hardly any makeup on

Feeling the pain: On her show Live With Kelly & Michael, the host told Michael Strahan that she will miss the doctor who had worked on the morning program

Near tears: When appearing on her morning show she said, 'He was such a great man... he was just a great person, a great friend, he will be missed - I cannot tell you how much I will miss him. I will miss him every day of my life'

Heartfelt: The personality added, 'If you love someone tell them every day that you love them because you don't know if you will have that opportunity.... It's sad. Oh my gosh, he was just the best. He would sing to you while he put Botox in your face - any song you wanted. He could sing anything at a moment's notice'

The day before the New Yorker tweeted her condolences for Dr Brandt, 65, who was highly-regarded for his cosmetic work across the industry. Madonna and Stephanie Seymour were clients.

'My heart is breaking for the loss of Dr. Fredric Brandt. My friend. You will be missed forever and in my heart even longer,' the star wrote.

Her husband Mark Consuelos, retweeted choreographer Isaac Calpito's post, which read: 'Devastated over the loss of our dear friend @drfredricbrandt. You are missed. You are loved. The world has lost one of its kindest souls.'

They were close: Dr Brandt was remembered by Ripa (left with the surgeon in 2011) in a tweet on Monday following his tragic suicide at his Miami home on Sunday

Comedian and former The View star, Joy Behar, tweeted on Monday: 'Dr Brandt was one of the sweetest, nicest, most generous people I have had the good fortune to meet & work with. He will be sorely missed.'

The City of Miami Police Department confirmed that Dr Brandt's death on Sunday was a suicide by hanging. An autopsy was scheduled on Monday, the coroner confirmed.

Miami Herald columnist, Lesley Abravanel had said Brandt had been 'devastated' recently over rumors comparing him to a character on the Netflix show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Her note: The 44-year-old beauty's tweet said, 'My heart is breaking for the loss of Dr. Fredric Brandt. My friend. You will be missed forever and in my heart even longer'

Abravanel, a Miami Herald columnist, posted a series of tweets on Sunday claiming that he had been 'devastated' by unflattering comparisons to Dr Franff on the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, according to sources close to the doctor.

The doctor's longtime publicist Jacquie Tractenberg told The New York Pos t on Monday: 'The show definitely deeply hurt him, he was being made fun of because of the way he looks.

'It is mean, and it was bullying. But the show was not the reason for his depression, and it was not the reason he would take his own life.'

The Tractenberg & Co PR agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Daily Mail Online.

Was he bullied?: Dr Brandt (left) has a resemblance to Dr Franff (right), a character on Tina Fey's Netflix show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He was reportedly 'devastated' by the portrayal

His colleague, Dr Robert Anolik, who worked with Brandt at his practice, posted a moving tribute on Monday.

The acclaimed dermatologist wrote: 'Dr. Fredric Brandt died yesterday. For nearly 5 years, Fred and I worked side by side. He was far more than a colleague to me. He was a close friend. I will miss him every day.'

The doctor was found dead at his Coconut Grove mansion in Miami by his housekeeper where he lived alone. She called 911 at 9.17am, according to a police statement.

The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department confirmed that an autopsy will be conducted on Monday.

The New York Post also wrote a column last month comparing the real-life doctor to the fictional doctor on Tina Fey's hit comedy.

'Sources: Dr Fredric Brandt was "devastated" over comparisons to the protagonist on Tina Fey’s new Netflix show, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt",' Abravanel tweeted.

Behar tweeted on Monday: 'Dr Brandt was one of the sweetest, nicest, most generous people I have had the good fortune to meet & work with. He will be sorely missed'

An eye for art: Dr Brandt, a cosmetic dermatologist and well-known art collector pictured in front of a piece from his collection at his apartment in New York City on March 7, 2014

Dr Franff only appears in one episode, titled 'Kimmy Goes To The Doctor!', of the first season.

The character shares Dr Brandt’s smooth skin, platinum blond hair and enthusiasm for plastic surgery, but his door sign claims he’s a ‘board certified D, DS, DDSOBGYN’, rather than a cosmetic dermatologist.

The Dr Franff character is depicted on the Netflix show with a high-pitched laugh and unable to speak certain words due to his plastic surgery.

Dr. Fredric Brandt touts wonders of his collagen booster serum

He is also seen drinking from a surgical bag and reinflates his own face after being punched.

Netflix had no comment when contacted by Daily Mail Online.

Dr Brandt was famed for his appearance, which displayed many of his dermatology techniques.

In a 2014 profile in The New York Times, he said that his goal was to 'restore the face to harmony'.

'I approach each face with a visual perception, an artistic perception and a medical perception,' he said.

The article, which described the doctor as an 'unnervingly ageless-looking personage', said that he was sought out by the rich and famous for his signature Y lifts, where fillers are injected below the cheekbones.

Martin Short's Dr Franff in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt episode

WHO IS DR FRANFF FROM TINA FEY'S UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT?

Abravanel said that sources told her Dr Brandt was 'devastated' over comparisons to the enthusiastic doctor on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

The plastic surgeon, Dr Franff, in the Netflix comedy, is played by comedy veteran Martin Short and had drawn unflattering comparisons to real-life Dr Brandt. In one scene, where the lead character Kimmy almost gets plastic surgery, the doctor is seen drinking from a hamster feeder

Martin Short had a small role as Dr Franff in one episode of the TV show's first season. When he is punched by the main character, Kimmy, as she struggles to escape the plastic surgeon's chair, his face dents like putty - which he then inflates with an air tube

Dr Franff appears in episode four of the first and only season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He's a botox-loving plastic surgeon played by Martin Short.

The show follows a Kimmy (Ellie Kemper), who was rescued from an underground bunker after years of being held hostage by a cult leader. She then is hired to be a nanny for the step-children of socialite Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski).

In the fourth episode of the show, Jacqueline visits Dr Franff to discuss a 'foot lift' of sorts because she believes that 'feet are the new butts'.

In the fourth episode of the Netflix show's first and only season, Dr Franff makes a short appearance as a cosmetic doctor who consults with Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) and Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski, pictured)

Dr Franff's almost-overly smooth skin and platinum blond hair share a resemblance with that of Dr Fredric Brandt, who is known for being the cosmetic dermatologist of stars including Madonna and Stephanie Seymour.

Franff is portrayed as a deranged doctor, whose face is so frozen from plastic surgery and other procedures that he even has trouble forming words at times.

In the episode, he cheerily suggests several barbaric-sounding surgeries for Jacqueline, as well as on Kimmy.