Actress Karen Black has succumbed to cancer Wednesday at the age of 74. Her husband Stephen Eckelberry was by her side, reports say.

Karen Black born Karen Ziegler will always be remembered by her fans for her work Trilogy of Terror. Black gained fame in the 1969's 'Easy Rider' in her role as a hooker and later moved on to work on other films.

In the year 1970, Black appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in 'Five Easy Pieces' as his airhead girlfriend. The film's director worried at the time that the well-educated Karen Black was too smart for the role but she portrayed the part to critical acclaim. This gained the Illinois-raised actress an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award. Five years after 'Five Easy Pieces', Karen Black starred as a country singer in the 1975 film 'Nashville'.

The American actress later started writing for the screen and also delved in songwriting and singing. Black is of German, Norwegian, and Bohemian descent. Karen attended Northwestern University then later moved to New York where she started acting in Off-Broadway productions.

Karen, who took the name of her first husband, was married to Charles Black from the year 1955 to the year 1962. She later married her Trilogy of Terror co-star Robert Burton but the marriage only lasted a year. Barely a year after her divorce from Burton, Karen and then boyfriend L.M. Kit Carson decided to get married. She has a son with Carson named Hunter. The two divorced. By 1987, she and Stephen Eckelberry married and adopted a daughter they named Celine.

Karen Black died in L.A. from ampullary cancer on August 8, sources say. After her doing a few films in 2010, the actress was diagnosed with the dreaded disease. Her husband posted on his page on Facebook after Black's death and said, "It is with great sadness that I have to report that my wife and best friend, Karen Black has just passed away, only a few minutes ago. Thank you all for all your prayers and love, they meant so much to her as they did to me."