Actress Billie Whitelaw dies aged 82

English actress Billie Whitelaw as Violet Kray in the film 'The Krays', 1990. Photo / Getty Images

British actress Billie Whitelaw has died aged 82, her son has told the BBC.

She was famous for her roles in films including The Omen and worked alongside Irish playwright Samuel Beckett.

Whitelaw also starred in the 1990 movie The Krays and appeared in police comedy Hot Fuzz in 2007.

She was made a CBE in 1991.

Whitelaw first appeared on the radio when she was only 11-years-old and made her theatrical debut in 1950.

She won a British Academy Award in 1969 for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Twisted Nerve and Charlie Bubbles.

She was also nominated for a Most Promising Newcomer gong in 1961 for Hell Is A City.

Whitelaw was married to actor Peter Vaughan from 1952 until 1966 and later married writer Robert Muller.

In an interview with the Independent in 1997 she revealed that she was not overly concerned about dying.

"Oh, no. Death's not one of those things that frighten the life out of me," she explained.

"Getting up on stage with the curtain going up frightens me more."

- AFP