Beloved novelist Jackie Collins has died of breast cancer aged 77, her family announced in a statement.
"It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful, dynamic and one of a kind mother, Jackie Collins, who died of breast cancer today," the Collins family told People.
"She lived a wonderfully full life and was adored by her family, friends and the millions of readers who she has been entertaining for over 4 decades. She was a true inspiration, a trail blazer for women in fiction and a creative force. She will live on through her characters but we already miss her beyond words."
Her sister Joan, 82, told People magazine she was "completely devastated".
"She was my best friend. I admire how she handled this. She was a wonderful, brave and a beautiful person and I love her," she said.
Joan also tweeted a photo of the pair together, alongside this message:
The author, who started writing as a teenager and has sold over 500 million copies of her novels worldwide, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer six-and-a-half years ago, but chose to keep her illness to herself, aside from telling family members.
She told People she did not regret keeping her diagnosis private, in what would be her last ever interview.
"I did it my way, as Frank Sinatra would say. I've written five books since the diagnosis, I've lived my life, I've travelled all over the world, I have not turned down book tours and no one has ever known until now when I feel as though I should come out with it," said Collins, whose treatments over the years included a lumpectomy, radiation and various drug courses and combinations."
She added: "Now I want to save other people's lives."