May Britt, the Swedish-born actress whose Hollywood career and personal life placed her at the center of one of America’s most controversial interracial marriages, has died at the age of 91. Her son, Mark Davis, confirmed she died of natural causes on December 11 at a Los Angeles medical center.

Born Maj-Britt Wilkens on March 22, 1934, near Stockholm, Britt began her acting career after being discovered in the early 1950s by Italian filmmakers. She made her film debut in Italy and gained recognition in European cinema before appearing in King Vidor’s War and Peace (1956), which brought her to the attention of 20th Century Fox.