Honor Blackman, best-known for playing Bond girl Pussy Galore, has died aged 94, her family said.

The actress was the quintessential Bond girl in 1964's Goldfinger opposite Sean Connery's 007 and also starred as Cathy Gale in The Avengers.

A message from her family said: “It’s with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Honor Blackman aged 94.

"She died peacefully of natural causes at home in Lewes, Sussex surrounded by her family. She was much loved and will be greatly missed by her two adopted children Barnaby and Lottie, and her four grandchildren Daisy, Oscar, Olive and Toby."

Their tribute went on to praise Blackman as "a much adored mother and grandmother" and "an actor of hugely prolific creative talent" with "an extraordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess."

“She achieved an unparalleled iconic status in the world of film and entertainment and with absolute commitment to her craft and total professionalism in all her endeavours she contributed to some of the great films and theatre productions of our times," they continued.

Born in Plaistow in 1925, Blackman trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a teenager before eventually making her film debut with a non-speaking role in Fame Is The Spur in 1947.

She went on to appear in films including So Long At The Fair with Dirk Bogarde, The Square Peg and the Westerns Shalako with Connery and Something Big with Dean Martin, eventually joining British spy series The Avengers in 1962 as John Steed's assistant Cathy Gale.

She also played the Greek goddess Hera in the 1963 film adaptation of Jason and the Argonauts before landing her iconic Bond girl role as Pussy Galore.

At 38 - five years older than 007 actor Connery - Blackman was one of the oldest actresses to play a Bond girl.

Discussing her casting, Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli said Blackman landed the part off the back of her Avengers role, as "the Brits would love her because they knew her as Mrs. Gale; the Yanks would like her because she was so good, it was a perfect combination."

The actress went on to enjoy a successful theatre career, starring in the West End revival of The Sound of Music opposite Petula Clark in 1981 and later appearing in musicals such as My Fair Lady and Cabaret. Between 1990 and 1996, she starred as Laura West in ITV sitcom The Upper Hand alongside Diana Weston and Kellie Bright.

In 2004 she played Rula Romanoff in Coronation Street, playing a flirty pensioner who caught the eye of Norris Cole, and appeared in an episode of Casualty in 2013.

Blackman recently looked back over her life and career in her touring show Honor Blackman As Herself, which saw her in conversation with her colleague and friend Richard Digby Day.

With additional reporting by Press Association