Piper Laurie: Actress who starred in The Hustler and Carrie dies aged 91 following long-term ill health

Legendary actress Piper Laurie, who was thrice nominated for an Oscar, has died aged 91. She is best known for her roles in the films The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986), and the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).

As well as her Oscar nominations, she won a multitude of awards during a glittering career, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Award.

Laurie died of old age, and was reportedly ill for some time before her death on Saturday, October 14. Her manager Marion Rosenberg gave the cause as old age, saying she was a “superb talent and a wonderful human being”.

She first arrived in Hollywood when she was just 17-years-old in 1949, during the famed ‘golden era’. She arrived as Rosetta Jacobs, given a name she hated and a contract with Universal-International.

The Carrie star was also given roles alongside some prominent names, with future United States president Ronald Reagan, Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis, and more. Her first role was playing Reagan.

After a string of roles, she became fed up and walked out on her 2,000-dollar-a-week contract in 1955, vowing to never act again unless offered a decent part. She moved to New York where she found the roles she was seeking in theatre and live television drama.

For years after, Laurie turned her back on acting. Piper then settled down and married film critic Joseph Morgenstern. Together, the pair welcomed a daughter, Ann Grace, and moved to a farmhouse in Woodstock, New York.

After 20 years and one child together, they divorced in 1982 after 20 years of marriage. It’s unknown if she had a long-term relationship after her 1982 divorce, but she never had another child.