Actress Karen Black dies at 74

Credit: MSN

Karen Black, one of the best-known actresses of the 1970s as a result of her roles in classics such as Five Easy Pieces, Easy Rider, and Nashville, has died.

The announcement was made by Black’s husband, Stephen Eckelberry, via his Facebook page, sharing the news only a day after blogging that the cancer Black had been battling for more than two years had caused a rapid deterioration in her condition.

Over the course of a career that lasted over four decades, Black earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Five Easy Pieces, in addition to winning two Golden Globes in the same category -- one for Five Easy Pieces, and another for the Robert Redford-starring adaptation of The Great Gatsby. She was also nominated for a third Golden Globe, for Best Actress in The Day of the Locust. She also has a Grammy nomination to her credit as a performer on the soundtrack to Nashville, which was nominated for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.

Black was 74 years old.