Film star Doris Day dies aged 97

The American actress, singer and animal welfare activist Doris Day has died aged 97.

Day started her career as a singer, with her hit Sentimental Journey becoming a signature tune.

She later became well known for a appearing in a number of successful musicals and comedies, including Pillow Talk, where she starred with Rock Hudson, Move Over, Darling, with James Garner, and Alfred Hitchcock's The Man You Knew Too Much.

She was most famous in the 1950s through to the early 1960s, and her on-screen patnership with Hudson was one of the biggest draws to the box office.

Her popularity, however, started to decline amid the social upheaval and counterculture revolution of the mid-60s.

Day, who was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, also had a keen interest in animal welfare. She founded the Doris Day Pet Foundation, now the Doris Day Animal Foundation - an NGO which aims to help animals in the United States - in 1978.

The actress was married four times, to musicians Al Jorden (1941-1943) and George Weidler (1946-1949), film producer Martin Melcher (1951-68) and restaurateur Barry Comden (1976-1981).

Her only child - Terry - who she had with Jorden, died of cancer in 2004.

Day received the the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.

Her death was announced by her animal charity on Monday.