- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
(CNN) - French Nouvelle vague actress Anna Karina died of cancer on Sunday at age 79, her agent, Laurent Balandras, told CNN.
Franck Riester, French Culture Minister, paid tribute to the actress, saying that "French cinema lost one of its legends."
Karina won the award for best actress at the Berlin Film Festival in 1961 for "A Woman is a Woman", and also starred in "Pierrot le Fou", among other French films of the 60s.
Balandras told CNN that "beyond what she represented and the legend around her, the most important thing to remember about Anna is that she was a free spirit."
Balandras added that "she was always very humble, very grateful for all the opportunities she was given."
She was named knight of the French Legion of Honor, the highest decoration in France, according to Françoise Nyssen, former French culture minister.
Celebrities who have died
