Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor has died from heart failure, her spokewoman has confirmed.
The British-born star had been receiving treatment for a heart condition. She was 79.
The Oscar-winner died this morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, with her four children at her side.
She had been taken to the hospital with congestive heart failure six weeks ago.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said: "She passed away at 1.28am (LA time) this morning."
Dame Elizabeth found fame as a child and went on to appear in more than 50 films.
Despite numerous health scares over a number of years the actress, who married fellow Cleopatra star Richard Burton on two occasions, continually fought back.
She was also noted for a lengthy and close friendship with Michael Jackson.
A spokeswoman for humanitarian causes, most notably Aids research, she remained in the public eye long after her film career was over.
She founded the American Foundation for Aids Research following the death of her close friend Rock Hudson in 1985.
Her health problems became more prominent in later life. A brain tumour, skin cancer, pneumonia and congestive heart failure were among her catalogue of ailments and she underwent three hip replacements.
"My body's a real mess," she admitted in a 2004 interview, then aged 72.
Born in London in 1932, her family moved to America at the start of the war, and at her father's art gallery in Los Angeles she drew the notice of movie talent scouts.
National Velvet (1944), about a young showjumper, made Taylor an international teenage star.
Her other films included Father Of The Bride (1950) and A Place In The Sun the following year.
In 1962 she played the title role in Cleopatra and starred opposite future husband Burton for the first time.
Their other joint efforts included Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966) which brought Taylor her second Oscar and The Taming Of The Shrew (1967), after which she struggled to win critical or box office acclaim.
But she went on to take her first stage role in The Little Foxes on Broadway in the early 1980s, with further roles on the stage and in TV films to follow.
In 1993 Taylor took a role in The Flintstones as Fred's mother-in-law.
The star's son, Michael Wilding, said: "My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love.
"Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.
"Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/Aids, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished."
Hollywood Legend Elizabeth Taylor Dies
