Janet Leigh, the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis
Actress Janet Leigh, best known for her role in classic thriller Psycho, has died at the age of 77.
Leigh died peacefully at her Beverly Hills home on Sunday, according to a spokeswoman for her daughter, Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis.
Leigh also starred in acclaimed movies in the 1940s, 50s and 60s including The Manchurian Candidate and Touch of Evil.
Her Oscar-nominated role as the victim of a shower stabbing in Hitchcock's Psycho became iconic in the film world.
Psycho has regularly topped polls of the best horror films
Her husband Robert Brandt and daughters Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis were at her side when she died, the spokeswoman said.
She had been suffering from vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels, for a year.
Leigh, who wrote a book about appearing in Psycho in 1995, said she had not been able to take a shower since making Psycho.
"It's not a hype, not something I thought would be good for publicity," she said. "Honest to gosh, it's true."
BBC/Entertainment
