The family of former James Bond star Roger Moore says he has died aged 89 from "a short but brave battle with cancer".

"It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer," the family statement said.

"The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone."

"We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for UNICEF which he considered to be his greatest achievement," the family said.

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"The affection our father felt whenever he walked on to a stage or in front of a camera buoyed him hugely and kept him busy working into his 90th year, though to his last appearance in November 2016 on stage at London's Royal Festival Hall".

"The capacity crowd cheered him on and off stage, shaking the very foundations of the building just a short distance from where he was born," the said. "Thank you Pops for being you, and for being so very special to so many people."

"Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina at this difficult time, and in accordance with our father's wishes there will be a private funeral in Monaco," the family said, signing off Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.

Known for his ironically raised eyebrow and deadpan quips, Moore's take on the suave superspy was more tongue-in-cheek than that of his manly predecessor Sean Connery.

But he outgunned Connery and all the other actors to have played 007 by taking the role he fondly called "Jimmy Bond" in a record number of seven films.

Moore was also one of the last of the old-style movie stars, who counted Frank Sinatra and David Niven among his friends and lived in luxury in Switzerland and the French Riviera.

Born Roger George Moore, on October 14, 1927 in the London suburb of Stockwell, he was the only son of a police constable and his wife, and had a happy childhood.

"I've not done badly for a boy from Stockwell, where I used to gaze at the silver screen in wonderment, little realising I'd be a part of this magical world," he wrote in his autobiography, My Word Is My Bond. Moore began his acting career as an extra in the 1940s before studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

He landed an MGM studio contract but only had supporting roles during the 1950s. It was not until the following decade that he achieved worldwide fame, starring in British television show The Saint as smooth-talking adventurer Simon Templar.

He also played alongside Tony Curtis in the 1970s crime series The Persuaders. Moore said in his autobiography he had been approached about playing James Bond, novelist Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent, as early as 1967.

But it was not until 1973 that he finally won the role - despite, at 45, being two and a half years older than Connery, the man he replaced.

Moore made his debut in Live and Let Die, after the producers made him lose weight, get fit and cut his hair.

He followed it with The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), T he Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983) before bowing out after A View to a Kill in 1985, when he was 57.

"Sadly, I had to retire from the Bond films," Moore said at a ceremony to award him a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, just ahead of his 80th birthday. "The girls were getting younger and I was just getting too old."

Moore said his most enjoyable Bond experience came in The Spy Who Loved Me, memorable for a cast of villains that included Jaws played by Richard Kiel - who died in 2014 - and gadgets including a Lotus Esprit sports car which doubled as a submarine.

"I think The Spy Who Loved Me was the best, or rather the one I enjoyed doing the most," Moore told AFP in an email interview in 2007. "It had great locations. And I was exceedingly happy working with Lewis Gilbert, the director."

Even when Connery emerged from retirement in 1983 to appear in the 'unofficial' Bond film Never Say Never Again - released in the same year as Moore's Octopussy - the two actors did not discuss the subject.

That was partly due to a mutual friend, Michael Caine, advising them not to be suckered into joining a media-driven Battle of the Bonds.

"Sean and I never discussed our experiences ... not even with the leading ladies!" Moore said. "Actors don't really sit around discussing the parts they've played - just in case someone says 'That was crap!'"

But he later admitted he was a big fan of the current Bond, British actor Daniel Craig.

"Daniel Craig is the hardest, then Sean," he said in an interview.

Moore acted in other films both during and after the Bond years but none had anything like the success of 007.

He was always self-deprecating when it came to his own skills, once joking: "I have three expressions, left eye, right eye and none moving at all."

Moore also enjoyed the high life, with a group of celebrity friends and homes in southwestern Switzerland and Monaco.

But in recent years Moore had become known for his humanitarian work, through activities as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, helping raise funds for under-privileged children.

He was awarded a knighthood in 2003 in recognition of his work with the organisation.

He was also an active campaigner against the production of foie gras.

In 1993 he underwent surgery for prostate cancer, in 2003 he was fitted with a pacemaker, and in 2013 he was diagnosed with diabetes.

In 2014 he published Last Man Standing: Tales from Tinseltown titled One Lucky Bastard in the United States.

In 2015 he was number 38 in British GQ magazine's 50 best dressed men.

Moore was married four times and is survived by two sons and a daughter.

During his first two marriages - to ice skater Doorn Van Steyn and singer Dorothy Squires - he once admitted he had been physically abused.

His children were all with Italian actress Luisa Mattioli, whom he married in 1969 divorced in 1996.

He married Kristina Tholstrup, a Swede, in 2002.

The estate of Bond author Ian Fleming led tributes to the late actor.

"We are saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Roger Moore, who brought joy to so many with his portrayal of Bond & his sterling UNICEF work," the said on Twitter.

Russell Crowe posted: "Roger Moore, loved him. At 10 I used to try to dress like Simon Templar (The Saint). My mother worked part time at the Indonesian embassy. Added intrigue to my persona."