Actress Karen Black has died aged 74, her husband Stephen Eckelberry has confirmed .
She worked consistently over the decades, first appearing predominantly in TV shows before getting a big break in Dennis Hopper’s seminal 1969 road movie, Easy Rider .
Working with Jack Nicholson again the following year in Five Easy Pieces , Black scored an Oscar nomination for her role as Rayette. And in 1971, Black was directed by Nicholson in Drive, He Said .
Other significant roles were in the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby (which bagged her a Golden Globe) and in Robert Altman’s Nashville , although she clocked up almost 200 appearances 1959 and 2013. Her final two films - She Loves Me Not and In The Woods - are yet to be released.
She is survived by husband Eckelberry and two children. Our thoughts go out to them.
Mia Farrow, Juliette Lewis and Edgar Wright were among the stars who paid tribute on Twitter:
Wonderful Karen Black rest in peace http://t.co/XHnfS37c9P August 8, 2013
Karen Black was my mentor and a 2nd mother to me.She inspired everyone she came in contact with.Her spirit/strength My luv is beyond words. August 9, 2013
Farewell Miss Karen Black. Unforgettable in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Outfit, Trilogy Of Terror, Nashville and many, many more. August 8, 2013
So sad to hear about Karen Black's death. She was a vital, courageous person & actress. #RIPkarenblack August 8, 2013
