Sultry screen siren Lauren Bacall, who rose to fame in the 1940s opposite her husband Humphrey Bogart in films such as "To Have and Have Not" and "The Big Sleep," died Tuesday, The Bogart Estate said. She was 89.
Variety reported Bacall suffered a suspected stroke.
"With deep sorrow, yet with great gratitude for her amazing life, we confirm the passing of Lauren Bacall," the Humphrey Bogart Estate tweeted.
The managing partner of the Humphrey Bogart Estate, Robbert J.F. de Klerk, said that Bacall died at home, but declined to give further details.
The actress, known for her throaty voice and seductive stare, made her screen debut opposite Bogart at age 19 in "To Have and Have Not"-- a film in which she also memorably said, "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow."
After seeing her in that film, director Billy Wilder referred to Bacall as "the girl with 'the look,'" and the phrase stuck.
Bogart was married at the time he met Bacall, and, within months, divorced his wife. The couple married in 1945 and co-starred in three more films, "The Big Sleep," "Dark Passage", and "Key Largo."
Bogart died of lung cancer in 1957 and in 1961 Bacall married actor Jason Robards, Jr. They divorced in 1969.
She also appeared such films as "How to Marry a Millionaire," "Designing Woman" and "Murder on the Orient Express."
Bacall, who was born Betty Joan Perske in New York, later shone on stage as well, starring in "Cactus Flower" and winning Tonys for "Applause" and "Woman of the Year." She also won a Special Oscar in 2009.
Bacall was always a star. With her lanky figure and flowing blonde hair, she was seemingly born for checked suits and silk dresses. On television talk shows, she exhibited a persona that paralleled her screen appearances: She was frank, even blunt, with an undertone of sardonic humor, all of which she demonstrated in her best-selling 1979 autobiography, "By Myself," which beat out works by William Saroyan among others for the National Book Award.
She is survived by three children: Stephen and Leslie Bogart and Sam Robards.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Trending
