Actress Elke Sommer reportedly died at the age of 85 from heart failure at her home in Bel Air near Los Angeles. She had been married to Wolf Walther since 1993; he died several months earlier.

Born Elke Schletz in Berlin, Sommer was discovered by Italian director Vittorio De Sica in the late 1950s. She became known internationally in the 1960s as the “German answer to Brigitte Bardot” and appeared alongside actors including Paul Newman, Dean Martin, Michael York and Peter Sellers. She later worked in European productions and on television, and also developed careers as a singer and painter.