'Psycho' star Janet Leigh dies
From CNN News Assistant Dalit Herdoon
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Actress Janet Liegh has died at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif., according to a spokeswoman for Leigh's daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis.
The legendary actress, best known for the famed shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," was 77.
"Janet Leigh died peacefully in her home Sunday afternoon," Heidi Schaeffer told CNN.
Leigh was surrounded by daughters Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis and her fourth husband, Robert Brandt, Schaeffer said.
The actress, whose violent death in "Psycho" gave a generation a fear of showers, had been battling vasculitis -- an inflammation of the blood vessels -- for a year, she said. Leigh died of complications from the disease.
Schaeffer said she is currently unaware of any funeral arrangements.
Before her death, Leigh requested that all donations in her name be made to the Motion Picture and Television Foundation, with which she had been actively involved.
John Frazer, Leigh's publicist, told CNN she served on the board of directors for the fund, which provides health care and medical treatment to those who work in the entertainment industry.
"She was not only a legendary actress, but she was also an author and a humanitarian," he said.
Leigh married Brandt in 1962 after an 11 year marriage to actor Tony Curtis, the father of her two children.
In addition to "Psycho," Leigh appeared in such other films as "The Manchurian Candidate," "Bye Bye Birdie," "Little Women" and "Angels in the Outfield." More recently, she appeared in 1998's "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later" with Jamie Lee Curtis.
According to Baseline II Inc. a Hollywood celebrity database, Leigh was born Jeanette Helen Morrison in Merced, Calif., on July 6, 1927. Leigh received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Psycho."
