Bestselling Author Jackie Collins Dies at 77

It's a dark day in Hollywood... and in bookstores everywhere. Bestselling author Jackie Collins died of breast cancer on Saturday, Sept. 19. She was 77.

"It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful, dynamic, and one of a kind mother, Jackie Collins, who died of breast cancer today," the family said in a statement to The Insider With Yahoo. "She lived a wonderfully full life and was adored by her family, friends, and the millions of readers who she has been entertaining for over 4 decades. She was a true inspiration, a trail blazer for women in fiction and a creative force. She will live on through her characters but we already miss her beyond words."

Collins kept her stage 4 cancer diagnosis private since she received it six and a half years ago, primarily only telling her three daughters, Tracy, 54, Tiffany, 48, and Rory, 46. She didn't even tell her sister, actress Joan Collins, until just a few weeks ago.

She revealed her illness to People magazine less than a week before her death. "Looking back, I'm not sorry about anything I did," she said. "I did it my way, as Frank Sinatra would say. I've written five books since the diagnosis, I've lived my life, I've travelled all over the world, I have not turned down book tours and no one has ever known until now when I feel as though I should come out with it."

Collins has written a total of 32 novels, and they've all appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list, selling more than 500 million copies. Eight have been adapted for the screen.

"[I'm] completely devastated," Joan, 82, told People of her sister's death. "She was my best friend. I admire how she handled this. She was a wonderful, brave and a beautiful person and I love her."

The author was also a good friend to many celebrities, and her dinner parties were legendary. Just this July, she looked the picture of health in this photo with Sharon Osbourne and Kathy Griffin shared on Instagram.

The family — including her sister Joan, brother Bill, three daughters, and six grandchildren — says they will be holding private ceremonies in the U.S. and the U.K., and asks that friends and fans please make a donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization or Penny Brohn Cancer Care (in the U.K.) in lieu of flowers.