Cyd Charisse, the legendary American dancer and actress, has died of a heart attack.
Charisse's publicist said the star, in her late 80s, passed away in the western U.S. city of Los Angeles on Tuesday morning.
Charissestarred in Hollywood musicals during the 1940s and 50s, sharing thescreen with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley. She was known for her greatbeauty and her versatility as a dancer.
The dancer, whomAstaire described as "beautiful dynamite," had her first big break whenshe appeared in the 1952 classic "Singin' in the Rain." She laterappeared in "Brigadoon" and "It's Always Fair Weather," among othermusicals.
Charisse was born Tula Ellice Finklea in the southernU.S. town of Amarillo, Texas. She was trained as a classical ballerinaand danced with the Ballet Russe as a teenager, before finding her truecalling as a screen star.