Hollywood actress Luise Rainer, the first of just five performers to win back-to-back Oscars for acting, has died at her London home at 104.
Her daughter said Rainer died of pneumonia.
The Austrian-born Rainer became one of Hollywood's hottest stars after winning consecutive Academy Awards for "The Great Ziegfeld" in 1936 and for playing a Chinese peasant in "The Good Earth" one year later.
Rainer, however, turned her back on Hollywood and walked out on a lucrative contract when studio bosses refused to let her appear in the films she wanted to do.
Rainer spent most of her career in Europe, appearing in British films and making only occasional American appearances, including an episode of the TV comedy series "The Love Boat."
The only other actors to win consecutive Oscars are Tom Hanks, Katharine Hepburn, Jason Robards and Spencer Tracy.
