Margaret Blye, who starred in The Italian Job opposite Michael Caine in 1969, dies of cancer at age 73

Published: 20:03 EST, 29 March 2016 | Updated: 01:12 EST, 30 March 2016

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Margaret Blye, who starred opposite Michael Caine and Noel Coward in 1969 British heist movie The Italian Job, died March 24 at her home in West Hollywood after a two-year battle with cancer. She was 73.

Her agent Kristin Nava confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly.

Bettter known as Maggie, she appeared in some 53 films and television series over the course of her 50-year career in Hollywood.

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Radiant beauty: Margaret Blye, who starred as Michael Caine's love interest in 1969's The Italian Job, seen in 2005. She died of cancer on Thursday, age 73

The beautiful blonde played Lorna in The Italian Job, the groovy girlfriend and partner in crime to Caine’s lovable criminal Charlie Croker.

Born in Houston in 1942, Maggie studied at the University of Texas before moving to Los Angeles to study at UCLA.

Maggie landed her first role in the Oscar nominated, Tennessee Williams adaptation, Summer And Smoke, in 1961, when she was just 18 after being spotted by an agent in Los Angeles.

She also appeared in Hombre with Paul Newman; Hard Times with James Coburn and Charles Bronson; Waterhole #3 with Coburn and Carroll O’Connor; The Entity with Barbara Hershey and Ron Silver; Diamonds For Breakfast with Marcello Mastroianni, and Man In The Chair with Christopher Plummer.

That's a bit naughty: The beautiful blonde played Lorna in The Italian Job, the groovy girlfriend and partner in crime to Caine’s lovable criminal Charlie Croker

Her TV credits included many now iconic shows, such as Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Hart To Hart and In The Heat Of The Night.

Maggie was last seen onscreen in TV movie Meet My Mom in 2010.

She joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1968 and was active in the organization, where she served on the Foreign Language Film Award Screening Committee for many years.

Iconic co-stars: Maggie, far left, co-starred with Paul Newman and Diane Cilento in Hombre in 1967 during her 50-year-career

Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni sat surrounded by his beautiful co-stars in 1968's Diamonds For Breakfast, from left, Elaine Taylor, Maggie, Rita Tushingham and Francesca Tu

And she was a guest at the Hollywood premiere of the 2003 reboot of The Italian Job, starring Mark Wahlberg and Donald Sutherland.

Maggie is survived by her sister, casting director Judy Blye Wilson; her brother, Richard Blye; and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, in Houston, Texas, at the Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home, according to Variety.

A memorial to celebrate Maggie's life will be held in Los Angeles at a later date and donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Special guest: She walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the 2003 reboot of The Italian Job, starring Mark Wahlberg and Donald Sutherland.