Liliane Bettencourt, the L'Oréal heiress and the world's richest woman, has died.

Mrs Bettencourt passed away in the early hours of Thursday at the age of 94, her daughter Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers has announced.

"Liliane Bettencourt died this night at home. She would have been 95 on October 21. My mother left peacefully," Mrs Bettencourt-Meyers said in a statement.

Mrs Bettencourt was ranked the richest woman in the world with a fortune of $39.5 billion last year, making her the world's 14th richest person.

In a statement, L'Oréal chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon expressed his condolences to the family and said: "We all had a deep admiration for Liliane Bettencourt who has always watched over L'Oréal, the company and its employees, and who was very attached to its success and development.