Novelist Jackie Collins dies from breast cancer aged 77

Jackie Collins, the best-selling novelist whose depictions of Hollywood glamour had millions addicted to her books, has died. She was 77 years old.

“It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful, dynamic and one of a kind daughter, Jackie Collins …,” the family said in a statement published in The New York Times. “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.”

Collins wrote 32 novels. Her books sold more than 500 million copies, and they were translated into 40 languages. Eight of her novels were adapted for the screen.

She published her first novel in 1968, The World is Full of Married Men. Australia and South Africa banned it, an action that sparked sales in the US and the UK.

Her older sister is the actress Joan Collins. She is survived by three daughters, Rory, Tiffany and Tracy.

The family told ET online that private services will be held for her family in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Collins had kept her illness a secret from the public.

Agencies/Canadajournal