Celebrity psychic Sylvia Browne who wrongly predicted death of Ohio kidnapping victim Amanda Berry dies aged 77

Medium: Psychic and self-proclaimed spiritual leader Sylvia Browne has died at age 77 in California

World-famous - and at times controversial - psychic Sylvia Browne has died. She was 77 years old.

Browne was a regular on day-time and late-night talk shows like Montel, The Tonight Show and Larry King Live.

The medium also lended her expertise on missing persons investigations - with varying degrees of success.

Miss Browne became the object of widespread ridicule this past spring when it was revealed that she had erroneously told the mother of Amanda Berry, one of the three women abducted and held in captivity by Ariel Castro in Ohio, that her daughter was dead.

According to a lengthy post that appeared on Browne’s Facebook page Wednesday evening, the spiritualist passed away just after 7am today at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California.

The online statement described the late medium as a spiritual guide who dedicated nearly 60 years of her life to helping others through readings, and an ‘advocate for justice’ who worked with law enforcement agencies.

Browne grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where her supposed psychic ability began to manifest itself when she was 3 years old.

She moved to California in 1964, and a decade later started The Nirvana Foundation for Psychic Research.

Frequent guest: Browne was a regular on talk shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Daytime veteran: Browne (left) appeared almost every week for 17 years on the Montel Williams Show

In the course of her decades-long career, Miss Browne published over 50 books, nearly half of which landed on The New York Times Bestsellers List.

She was also a frequent guest on The Montel Williams Show, where Browne appeared almost every week for over 17 years.

‘A beacon that shined for so many was extinguished today, but its brightness was relit and will now shine forever for many of us from above,’ Mr Williams said about Browne. ‘I, like so many of you, lost a friend today. But, as has been for the last twenty years, she'll always remain a part of me. My thoughts and prayers go out to Sylvia's family in this time of loss.’

In 2004, Miss Browne made headlines when she told Louwanna Miller on the talk show that her missing daughter Amanda Berry was 'not alive.'

Hope lost: Sylvia Browne (left) released a statement on her website today saying 'only God is right all the time' after she told Louwanna Miller (right) that her daughter Amanda Berry was 'not alive' in 2004

Tragic end: Louwanna Miller, pictured with Amanda Berry, died from a heart failure in 2006

Following the psychic's words, Ms Miller walked away being '98 per cent' sure that her daughter was dead. She died of heart failure two years later.

Amanda was found alive nearly a decade later along with two younger women in the Cleveland home of her abductor, Ariel Castro.

Altruist: A statement posted on Browne's Facebook page described the late medium as a spiritual guide who dedicated nearly 60 years of her life to helping others through readings

In response to the backlash sparked by her wrong prediction, Browne said in a statement that ‘only God is always right.’

Miss Browne is survived by her husband, Michael Ulery, two sons and three grandchildren.

Browne's passing comes a month after she celebrated her 77th birthday.

In recent weeks, the elderly medium posted contemplative messages on Facebook talking about faith and mortality.

Her final post from October 27 read: 'My one prayer every morning that has carried me through my life is, "Hi God, it's me again." It doesn't matter how you pray. It can be just simply talking to God. Remember, God knows your heart and soul.'

In September, Browne tellingly wrote on her page: 'If you are afraid to die, you will not fully live,' drawing more than 8,647 'likes' from her followers.

The 77-year-old spiritualist had a busy schedule ahead of her, with a dozen live readings planned from coast to coast through April 2014.

