Anne Rice has died aged 80.

The author - whose best-selling novel 'Interview with the Vampire' was adapted into a movie starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt - died on Saturday 11.12.2021 after "complications resulting from a stroke."

Her son Christopher Rice posted on her Facebook page: "Dearest People of Page. This is Anne’s son Christopher and it breaks my heart to bring you this sad news. Earlier tonight, Anne passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke. She left us almost nineteen years to the day my father, her husband Stan, died. The immensity of our family’s grief cannot be overstated. As my mother, her support for me was unconditional — she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions."

Christopher - who is also an author, notable for his bestseller 'A Density of Souls' - went on to explain that the family's grief "cannot be understated."

He continued: "The immensity of our family’s grief cannot be overstated. As my mother, her support for me was unconditional — she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions. In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage, awash in memories of a life that took us from the fog laced hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the twinkling vistas of Southern California."

Christopher concluded the post by sharing plans for his mother's funeral, with a "celebration of her life" also due to take place early next year.

He wrote: "Anne will be interred in our family’s mausoleum at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans in a private ceremony. Next year, a celebration of her life will take place in New Orleans. This event will be open to the public and will invite the participation of her friends, readers and fans who brought her such joy and inspiration throughout her life."