'Easy Rider' Star Karen Black Dies at 74
American actress Karen Black, who shot to fame in the 1969 counter-culture classic "Easy Rider," died Thursday in Los Angeles, her husband said. She was 74.
Black, who starred alongside Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in the film, died after battling cancer.
"It is with great sadness that I have to report that my wife and best friend, Karen Black has just passed away, only a few minutes ago," Black's husband Stephen Eckelberry wrote on his Facebook page.
"Thank you all for all your prayers and love, they meant so much to her as they did to me."
Born in Illinois in 1939, Black went on to star in around 100 movies, including several with some of the biggest names in Hollywood history.
As well as "Easy Rider," she appeared in 1970's "Five Easy Pieces," earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Nicholson's pregnant girlfriend.
She had earlier appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's 1966 film "You're a Big Boy Now."
She won a Golden Globe for her performance alongside Robert Redford in the 1974 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
Black also appeared in Robert Altman's 1975 musical drama "Nashville" before featuring in Alfred Hitchcock's last movie "Family Plot" in 1976.
Black was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2010. She is survived by her husband and two children.
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