Sylvia Kristel, the Dutch actress, has passed away aged 60. Famous for her role in the film 'Emmanuelle', Kristel had been admitted to hospital in July after suffering a stroke, according to news wires. 'Emmanuelle' was originally released in 1974, at the time when sexual content within films was treated in a hugely different manner to how it is today. The story told of a sexually promiscuous housewife, and went onto spawn numerous sequels, playing in a cinema on the Champs-Elysees for 11 years.

Talking some time ago, Kristel herself attributed its success to the changing censorship laws of the era. "In a lot of countries the light went on, and that contributed very much to the success," she said, according to the BBC. In the UK the film was frowned on, and was given an X-rating, only appearing in the country as original intended in 2007. Kristel went on to appear in many of the sequels to the film and also appeared in flicks like 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' and 'Mata Hari'.

Her first success though came when modelling; she won the Miss TV Europe contest in 2007 and won. She also appeared in one of the highest grossing independent films of 1981, 'Private Lessons', whilst her most prominent recent role - and first in eight years - was in 'Two Sunny Days' in 2010.