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Emmy-winning actress and singer Polly Bergen has died at the age of 84, according to Associated Press.

She died at her home in Southbury, Connecticut, after battling emphysema and other illnesses in the late 1990s after 50 years of smoking.



She had recorded albums and starred as a leading actress in films, television and stage musicals.

Recently she had starred as Lynette's (Felicity Huffman) mother in Desperate Housewives and Tony Soprano's late father's mistress in The Sopranos.

Bergen won an Emmy in 1958 for her portrayal of the tragic singer Helen Morgan on the anthology series Playhouse 90.

She was also nominated for another Emmy in 1989 for Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-series or Special for War and Remembrance.

Among her film roles were Move Over, Darling (1963) with Doris Day and James Garner, Susan Seidelman's 1987 Making Mr. Right, and John Waters' 1990 Cry-Baby with Johnny Depp.

In 2002 she played a secondary role in the revival of Cabaret and the following year was back on Broadway with the comedy Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.

Back in 2001 she said: "I was fanatically ambitious. All I ever wanted to be was a star. I didn't want to be a singer. I didn't want to be an actress. I wanted to be a star."

Watch a clip of Polly Bergen in Desperate Housewives below:

Youtube video

Read more: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/...#ixzz3DxAPDHLO

She was a great actress, loved her in Desperate Housewives.. RIP