A recent GoFundMe page set up by her friends, meanwhile, detailed how Kirkland had been struggling with “life-threatening infections” having suffered a fall in the shower. The page in question was intended to raise funds for her “urgent medical care”.

“She had a fall in the shower, when she was left unattended; injuring her ribs, foot, along with cuts and bruises,” the page read.

After studying at the Actors Studio and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kirkland became a fixture of New York’s Off-Broadway and avant-garde scene in the 1960s—including a stint with Andy Warhol’s Factory.

Her breakthrough film role came in Anna (1987), in which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama.

Over her career spanning six decades, Kirkland appeared in over 200 films