The woman who created the beehive hairstyle, the cone-shaped coif popularised in the 1960s by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and actress Audrey Hepburn, has died aged 98, the funeral home organising her burial said.

Margaret Vinci Heldt, who fashioned the beehive for a magazine cover in 1960, "passed away peacefully" of heart failure in Elmhurst, Illinois, on Friday (local time), the Ahlgrim Funeral Home said in a statement.

"She had a zest for life, the most positive attitude," her daughter Carlene Ziegler, 59, said. "She was the life of the party right up to her last days."

From cartoon mum Marge Simpson to 1980s rock band the B-52s — who took their name from one of the hairdo's nicknames — generations of pop culture figures have sported the beehive.

Ms Heldt ran a downtown Chicago salon, called Margaret Vinci Coiffures, when she dreamed up the famous hairdo. The mannequin Ms Heldt used to create the style is part of the Chicago History Museum's collection.

The Chicago-born stylist wanted to make a hairstyle that could fit under her favourite style of fez hat, the museum said on its website.

"She used the hat's shape as inspiration" for the beehive.

Ms Heldt had two children, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Beehives — seven of the best

The late Amy Winehouse, pictured with Blake Fielder-Civil, was an ardent fan of the beehive. ( Frederick M Brown: Getty Images )

This is more of a Bey-hive. ( AFP: Brendan Hoffman )

Film icon Audrey Hepburn wore a beehive in the 1960s. ( AFP Archive )

Patsy Stone was never without her trademark hairstyle in Absolutely Fabulous. ( IMDB )

Singer Lana Del Rey rocks a beehive. ( AFP: Sebastien Bozon )

Katey Sagal's character Peg Bundy wore a beehive in Married With Children. ( IMDB )

Actor Brigitte Bardot wore this epic beehive to a party in 1962. ( AFP )

Reuters