Shelley Winters dies of heart failure

The 'Alfie' star passes away having failed to recover from a heart attack in October.

Jan 16 2006

Oscar-winning actress Shelley Winters died of heart failure on Saturday. She was 85.

The outspoken star was a true Hollywood legend, appearing in more than 100 films, re-inventing her image many times over and working well into her 70s.

Born Shirley Schrift in Illinois in 1920, she moved to New York to work as a chorus girl before hitting the Broadway stage in a variety of critically acclaimed plays.

Hollywood beckoned however, and Winters early films included 'A Double Life', 'Winchester '73' and Charles Laughton's brilliant gothic thriller 'The Night of the Hunter'.

Trained at Lee Strasbourg's Actors' Studio, she won her first best supporting actress Oscar in 1959 for her role as Petronella Van Daan in 'The Diary of Anne Frank', and later donated the award to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

Winters received a second Oscar for 'A Patch of Blue' in 1965, while roles in 'Lolita', 'The Poseidon Adventure' and an unforgettable cameo opposite Michael Caine in 'Alfie' ensured she remained one of the industry's most sought after stars throughout the 1960s and 70s.

In recent years, Winters made memorable appearances in James Mangold's 'Heavy' and Jane Campion's 'The Portrait of a Lady', while two tell-all autobiographies, 'Shelley, Also Known as Shirley' and 'Shelley II, The Middle of My Century' were also bestsellers.

She is survived by her partner of the last 19 years, Jerry DeFord, daughter Vittoria Gassman Neuman, and two grandchildren.

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