“Hollywood star Samantha Eggar died in her home on Wednesday (Picture: Kobal/Shutterstock) Acclaimed Hollywood actor Samantha Eggar has died aged 86. The star, known for her roles in movies like The Collector and The Brood, died peacefully in her home in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday, with no cause of death revealed. This was confirmed by”, — write: metro.co.uk

Hollywood star Samantha Eggar died in her home on Wednesday (Picture: Kobal/Shutterstock) Acclaimed Hollywood actor Samantha Eggar has died aged 86.
The star, known for her roles in movies like The Collector and The Brood, died peacefully in her home in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday, with no cause of death revealed.
This was confirmed by her daughter, actress Jenna Stern, who told The Hollywood Reporter that Eggar had struggled with illness but ‘lived a long, fabulous life.’
In her Instagram post, she called Eggar ‘Beautiful, intelligent and tough enough to be fascinatingly vulnerable…’
She added: ‘My Mama passed Wednesday evening. Peacefully and quietly surrounded by family. I was there next to her …holding her hand, telling her how much she was loved. It was beautiful. It was a privilege.’
In an obituary posted to her Instagram story, the House of Cards actor added about her mother: ‘Samantha Eggar will be remembered not only for her unforgettable performances but her genorosity, wit and love of life.’
She received an Oscar nomination in the 60s (Picture: Getty)
She had a rich career across stage and screen (Picture: Shutterstock) After starting her career on stage, Eggar soon broke into the film industry in the 1960s and became one of the most ‘sought after’ stars at the time.
In 1965, she played her career-defining role as a kidnapped art student opposite Terence Stamp lone psycopath in William Wyler’s The Collector, which landed her widespread acclaim, including an Academy Award nod.
The late screen star once opened up about the intense experience of filming the movie, describing it as ‘not an easy film to make’.
‘If the tension wasn’t there — if I didn’t exude precisely what he wanted — well, Willie just poured cold water over me.
‘You remember I was tied up by black leather? Well, use your imagination and go from there! What you see onscreen was really taking place on set,’ she told The Terror Trap about Wyler’s directing techniques in 2014.
On stage, she starred opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins at the Old Vic (Picture: Alastair Muir/Shutterstock) In 1979, she starred in David Cronenberg’s early horror masterpiece, The Brood, as Nola.
Other movies featuring her include Doctor Dolittle, The Molly Maguires and The Light at the End of the World and as the voice of Hera in Disney’s Hercules.
She has also appeared on several TV shows over the years, such as Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, Star Trek: The Next Generation (as Captain Picard’s sister-in-law) and All My Children.
Her last credit was for Metalocalypse in 2012, in which she voiced the Whale.
Born in 1939 in Hampstead, England, she was the daughter of a brigadier-general in the British Army, and her mother was an ambulance driver during World War Two.
After 12 years growing up in a convent in the English countryside, she was initially forbidden from pursuing acting and entered the fashion industry as an artist.
Eggar’s journey into acting wasn’t smooth sailing (Picture: Moviestore/Shutterstock) One day, her cousin drove her to Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she enrolled, and her lifelong career unfolded from there.
Tributes have poured in for the prolific actor.
‘No one taught me more about compassion and forgiveness than Sam. How lucky I was to be loved by her,’ her daughter-in-law Mindy wrote in a moving tribute on Instagram shared by Stern.
‘RIP Samantha Eggar. She was incredible in her Oscar-nominated turn in The Collector, but it’s her work in The Brood that always comes to mind for me – so haunting, and fearless. She was magnificent,’ Jamil wrote on X.
‘RIP to Samantha Eggar, 86, a uniquely talented and beautiful star of many great movies, especially The Collector and, if you’re into horror, Curtains,’ Matthew Retmund echoed.
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