Breast cancer has claimed the life of best-selling English author Jackie Collins.

“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 magazine in a statement.

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“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 four decades.

“She was a true inspiration, a trailblazer for women in fiction and a creative force.

“She will live on through her characters but we already miss her beyond words.”

Diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer six years ago, Collins, 77, chose to keep her illness almost entirely to herself, confiding primarily in her three daughters.

Memorial services in both the United States and the United Kingdom will be held privately, it said.