Actress Jill Ireland, who for years fought against cancer, died Friday at her home surrounded by her family. She was 54.
Ireland had been confined to her bed for the past week and by early Friday had slipped into a coma. A family spokesman, Lori Jonas, said she died at 11:30 a.m. Her husband, actor Charles Bronson, and her children were at her bedside.Funeral arrangement were pending.
Ireland's last public appearance was on May 5, when she attended her son's wedding. The week before she attended ceremonies in Hollywood, where she was given a star on the Walk of Fame.
Ireland used her fame as an actress and the wife of Bronson to promote cancer research, offering support and encouragement to victims of the disease she had battled for so long.
She was first stricken with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy in 1984, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In early 1989 she learned the malignancy had spread to her lungs and other vital organs.
Ireland, a blond English beauty with cornflower-blue eyes and a lilting voice, began her performing career as a triple threat - singing, dancing and acting on stage, screen and television.
But in recent years she was best known as an outspoken activist for cancer research and medical-insurance coverage.
Two years ago she was appointed National Crusade Chairwoman for the American Cancer Society. In 1988, she testified before a U.S. Senate committee and was involved in the passage of a Medicare bill involving mammography, a test that can detect breast cancer earlier than other examinations.
She was presented with the Medal of Courage by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
Born April 24, 1936, in London, Ireland made her professional debut at age 12 as a ballet dancer at London's Chiswick Empire Theatre.
At 15, she gave up formal schooling to attend theatrical workshops between performances with repertory companies in plays or musicals in London or on tour.
While still in her teens, she signed her first movie contract.
After a divorce from actor David McCallum in 1967, she married Bronson and went on to work with her new husband in more than a dozen films, including "From Noon Till Three," "The Valachi Papers," "Breakheart Pass," "Somewhere Behind the Door" and "Hard Times."
Her two autobiographical books, "Life Wish," dealing with her battle with cancer, and "Life Lines," about her adopted son Jason McCallum's drug addiction, became best-sellers.