LOS ANGELES — British actress Samantha Eggar, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in “The Collector” and also starred in the original “Dr. Doolittle” film, died Oct. 15 in Los Angeles. She was 86.

Eggar’s death was announced in an Instagram post by her daughter, Jenna Stern.

No cause of death was given, but Stern said her mother died “peacefully and quietly surrounded by family.”

“She was beautiful, intelligent, and tough enough to be fascinatingly vulnerable,” Stern wrote.

The 1965 film “The Collector,” which was nominated for three Oscars, featured Eggar as Miranda Grey, a woman who was held captive by Freddie Clegg (Terence Stamp). She captured the best actress award at Cannes and then a Golden Globe for the film, but lost the Oscar in 1966 to Julie Christie.

In 1966, Eggar starred with Cary Grant in his last picture, the romantic comedy “Walk, Don’t Run.”

The following year, Eggar played Rex Harrison’s love interest in the original “Dr. Doolittle” film.

Eggar also carved a niche in horror films, appearing in “The Dead Are Alive!” (1972), “A Name for Evil” (1973), “The Uncanny” (1977) and “Curtains” (1983). Her signature role in the genre came in 1979’s “The Brood,” where she played a deranged mental patient tricked by her doctor into bearing devilish offspring.

Eggar became a darling of horror fans by appearing in such fare as The Dead Are Alive! (1972), A Name for Evil (1973), The Uncanny (1977) and Curtains (1983). In perhaps her most memorable effort in the genre, she portrayed a deranged mental patient tricked by her doctor into spawning devilish offspring in The Brood (1979), an early David Cronenberg film.

Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar was born on March 5, 1939, in Hampstead, England.

She received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but her mother refused to let her attend, as she was opposed to her daughter becoming an actor. She did allow Eggar to enter art school to study painting and drawing.

After a brief career on stage, Eggar made her film debut as a promiscuous college coed in the 1962 film “Young and Willing.”

During the 1990s, Eggar did voice work, most notably in the 1997 Disney animated movie, “Hercules,” as Hera, the queen of the gods.

Eggar was married to actor Tom Stern from 1964 to 1971.

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