Her role as a hypothermic nurse in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" made her world famous: US actress Louise Fletcher is dead. According to her son, she died on Friday at the age of 88 in her home in southern France, like the US film portal The Hollywood Reporter reported. Her spokesman David Shaul confirmed the actress' death, the New York Times and Deadline.com reported on Saturday.

Fletcher has acted in film and television productions since the late 1950s. She rose to fame with her role as the cruel sister Mildred Ratched in director Miloš Forman's psychiatric drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. She won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1976. The film picked up four more Oscars for best picture, for screenplay and direction, and for leading actor Jack Nicholson.

Fletcher was raised to deaf parents. She therefore gave her acceptance speech on the Oscar stage partly in sign language. She paid tribute to her fellow actor Marlee Matlin (57), who appeared with Fletcher in the series "Picket Fences – Tatort Gartenzaun". "She was the first to sign language in her acceptance speech at the Oscars," wrote Matlin, who is deaf herself, on Twitter. "Rest in peace, dear Louise."

Michael Douglas: "We will miss her"

Oscar winner Michael Douglas (78), producer of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", published a photo with Fletcher on Instagram. The actress was a "rare and unique talent and a lovely lady," he wrote, "we will miss her."

Robert Hewitt Wolfe (57), television producer and screenwriter for the series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", in which Fletcher plays the role of the cunning Kai Winn Adami, mourned the actress on Twitter. "It was an honor and a pleasure to write for Louise Fletcher - one of the very greatest".

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