Actor Alan Rickman dies aged 69

According to a statement from his family: "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends."

His last stage role in the West End was a revival of Noel Coward's comedy 'Private Lives', which ran at the Albery Theatre (now Noel Coward) from 21 September 2001 to 3 March 2002 opposite Lyndsey Duncan.

Rickman was born in Acton, west London and begun his acting training at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) before starting his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

His stage roles include 'Antony and Cleopatra' at the National Theatre, 'The Winter Guest' at the Almeida Theatre, and Henrik Ibsen's 'John Gabriel Borkman' which ran at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin before transferring to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City in 2011. One of his most acclaimed credits was starring as Vicomte de Valmont in an acclaimed 1985 RSC production of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'.

Popular roles on film include 'Love Actually', 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' and the 'Harry Potter' franchise, in which he starred as Severus Snape.

Throughout his career, he was awarded a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.