Actress Angela Lansbury dies aged 96

In a statement released to NBC News, Ms Lansbury’s children said their mother died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Los Angeles at 1.30am today.

They said she was just five days shy of her 97th birthday.

Lansbury is perhaps best known for her role as Jessica Fletcher, the author-come-detective, from the hit show Murder She Wrote.

She was born in London and moved to the US during World War II.

She was contracted by MGM where she appeared in her first film, Gaslightin 1944, and for which she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the age of just 19.

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