Sylvia Kristel, star of Emmanuelle, dies
Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, who starred in the 1974 erotic French film Emmanuelle, has died aged 60.
"She died during the night during her *****," her agent Marieke Verharen told the AFP news agency.
The actress, who had cancer, was admitted to hospital in July after suffering a stroke.
Emmanuelle, which told the story of a sexually promiscuous housewife, spawned numerous sequels and played in a cinema on the Champs-Elysees for 11 years.
Released in 1974, the soft-focus French film was one of the first erotic movies to be shown in mainstream cinemas.
Kristel herself attributed its success to the changing censorship laws of the era.
"In a lot of countries the light went on, and that contributed very much to the success," she said.
In the UK, however, the film was given the restricted X-rating, and suffered heavy cuts.
Kristel went on to star in several Emmanuelle sequels, as well as more mainstream films - many of which, like Lady Chatterly's Lover and Mata Hari, played on her reputation as an erotic film star.
