Actor Louise Fletcher, who gave an Oscar-winning performance as the villainous Nurse Ratched in 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and won hearts when she signed to her deaf parents during her Academy Awards speech, died Friday.
Fletcher, who had battled breast cancer twice by the time she was 80, died at her home in France, according to agent David Shaul, who confirmed the news to Deadline. No cause of death was given, but Shaul said Fletcher died in her sleep surrounded by family. She was 88.
While the role as the icy, unlovable nurse in Milos Forman's acclaimed adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel made Fletcher famous, she struggled to find meaty roles and discovered that, as someone who rose to fame in her 40s, she was often overlooked in favor of younger actors. But she thrived in small fare, such as religious leader Kai Winn Adami on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and the foul-mouthed matriarch Peg on "Shameless."
