Debbie Reynolds, mother of the late actor Carrie Fisher, has died aged 84, just over a day after her daughter's death.

Born Mary Francis Reynolds in April, 1932, the American actor and singer was just a teenager when she shot to fame for her role in the 1950 film Three Little Words, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for most promising newcomer.

But one of her most memorable roles in her early career was as the fiery and talented Kathy Selden in the world-renowned 1952 musical Singin' In The Rain, which saw her dance and sing alongside Gene Kelly when she was just 20 years old.

Read more: Carrie Fisher and 128 famous faces we've said goodbye to in 2016

She became synonymous with the Hollywood cinema glamour of the 50s and 60s, taking over the big screen with roles such as Pansy Hammer in The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis (1953), Jane Hurley in The Catered Affair (1956), Tammy in Tammy and the Batchelor (1957), Molly Brown in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), and Sister Ann in The Singing Nun (1966).

Though she married three times, it was her first marriage to musician Eddie Fisher in 1955 that led to the birth of Carrie and her son Todd.

Glasgow Times:

Photo credit: PA

But while she continued to have a loving relationship with her own and her ex-husband's children, including Joely Fisher, the marriage ended sourly, after news emerged of Fisher's affair with movie star Elizabeth Taylor.

The pair divorced in 1959 and she married Harry Karl the following year, then Richard Hamlett in 1984.

As well as a successful career on Broadway, in her later years, she played the recurring role of Bobbi Adler, mother of Grace in the hit American sitcom Will And Grace.

Read More: The Herald's obituary

She was also known for her charity work, devoting 56 years to The Thalians mental health charity, from its foundation in 1955 until 2011.

On December 28 she was rushed to hospital after suffering a stroke while at the her son's home making plans for her daughter's funeral.

Media website Tmz.com said she had been left "distraught" by Fisher's death the previous day, following a heart attack on a transatlantic flight on December 23.

Glasgow Times:

Carrie Fisher, 60, suffered a heart attack on a transatlantic flight on December 23 and died the following Tuesday. 

Read more: Carrie Fisher and 128 famous faces we've said goodbye to in 2016

Since then tributes have been made by a number of well-wishers, including her Star Wars co-stars.

Her candid account of life behind the scenes of the blockbuster films  has now topped the bestseller list. The Princess Diarist, released this year, reveals the actor-turned-author’s on-set affair with Harrison Ford while filming the sci-fi blockbuster in 1976 through a series of memoirs she kept.

It came as Fisher’s former husband, singer-songwriter Paul Simon, added his condolences. The former half of American duo Simon & Garfunkel wrote on Twitter: “Yesterday was a horrible day. Carrie was a special, wonderful girl. It’s too soon. Paul Simon.”

Ford, 74, gave a heartfelt statement on Tuesday about the Princess Leia star, saying: “Carrie was one of a kind... brilliant, original. Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life, bravely.”

Fisher had become an international screen star and sex symbol when she appeared in the first Star Wars film in 1977.

Her Star Wars legacy is set to continue as she returns as General Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode VIII, due for release next December.