Actress Sally Kellerman has died aged 84 following a battle with dementia, her manager and publicist has confirmed.

Kellerman, whose career spanned more than six decades in film and television, was a regular in director Robert Altman’s films, appearing in 1970’s Brewster McCloud, 1992’s The Player and 1994’s Prêt-à-Porter.

She was perhaps best known however, for her portrayal of Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in his 1970 film M*A*S*H, for which she received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination.

The movie inspired a TV series which ran for 11 seasons with Loretta Swit in Kellerman’s role.

She was born in 1937 in Long Beach, California, the daughter of a piano teacher and an oil executive, moving to Los Angeles as a child and attending Hollywood High School.

Her many TV acting credits included The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Decker, Bonanza and The Young And The Restless – for which she was shortlisted for a Daytime Emmy Award.

She also appeared in the original Star Trek pilot as Dr Elizabeth Dehner, a role that won her cult status among fans.

Her first love was music and the accomplished singer released her debut album in 1972, followed by an EP in 2009.

She also contributed to the soundtracks of numerous films, including Brewster McCloud, The Gold Dust Twins and Rafferty.

Kellerman was married to television producer Rick Edelstein from 1970 to 1972.

She adopted her niece, Claire, before going on to marry movie producer Jonathan D Krane in 1980, with whom she adopted twins Jack and Hannah.

Jonathan and Hannah tragically died within months of each other in 2016.

Kellerman is survived by Claire and Jack, who told US news outlet TMZ that he said his final farewell to his mother the night before she died.