Carrie Fisher, the Hollywood actress best known for her role in Star Wars movies, has died at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack.

A statement released on behalf of Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd, said: "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8.55 this morning.

"She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers."

Fisher, who was the daughter of Jewish singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds, has been in hospital since suffering the heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles last Friday.

She was best known for playing played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, a role she revived in last year’s sequel The Force Awakens.

She made her cinema debut in 1975, appearing opposite Warren Beatty in Shampoo, and starred in When Harry Met Sally and Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters.

 She was briefly married to the singer Paul Simon.

She chronicled her troubled life as a part of Hollywood royalty in two memoirs, Wishful Drinking, and Postcards from the Edge, which was made into a successful film with Meryl Streep.