Alain Delon, the French actor and heartthrob of the 1960s who became famous for his roles as villains and gangsters while leading a turbulent life off the screen, has died at the age of 88.

Delon, one of the biggest names of a towering generation of French film stars, died “peacefully at his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and loved ones,” his family told French news agency AFP on Sunday. His health had been failing in recent years.

French President Emmanuel Macron praised Delon’s “legendary” roles and his “unforgettable face.”

“Melancholic, popular, mysterious, he was more than a star: he was a French monument,” Macron said on X.

Delon rose to fame through roles that had a criminal or dark background, playing murderers and hitmen. Known for his striking looks and bright blue eyes, he attracted fans from all over the world in his heyday.

His most famous films include Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) from 1960, which is loosely based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith The talented Mr. Ripley; Luchino Visconti’s 1963 film The Leopardin which he played the leading role alongside Burt Lancaster; and The Samouraia 1967 film by Jean-Pierre Melville in which he played a contract killer.

His career was at times overshadowed by scandals and he spoke openly about his own connections to real mafiosi and gangsters, some of whom he had met early on while doing odd jobs in Paris.

In his later years, Delon courted controversy with comments such as his admission that he had beaten women and his criticism of adoption by same-sex couples.

He had also expressed a friendship with far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, which sparked a backlash when he received an honorary award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 during one of the actor’s last public appearances.

At the time of the award, Delon defended his legacy. “People can say what they want, I’m used to it. But there is nothing to say about my career. It is impeccable,” he told the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche in 2019.

In a statement to AFP, Delon also paid tribute to his fans this year, thanking them for their support “as my journey draws to a close.” He said he had experienced “so many passions, loves, so many successes and failures, controversies, scandals and dark affairs” in his life.

Born in 1935 in Sceaux, just outside Paris, Delon had a turbulent childhood. He was placed in foster care at the age of four before attending several boarding schools. At 17, he joined the French Navy and served in what was then French-ruled Indochina.

Back in Paris in the 1950s, he came into contact with the underworld in the red-light district of Pigalle and worked as a porter in the Les Halles grocery store.

Through a friend, he attended the Cannes Film Festival in 1957 and was discovered by a Hollywood agent who took him to screen tests. His career as an actor began with a series of film and theater roles. He won awards for his acting performance, but never made a big breakthrough in the United States.

At the beginning of his career, Delon met actress Romy Schneider, to whom he was engaged but never married. The couple later starred in the sexual jealousy drama The swimming pool (The swimming pool).

In 1964, Delon married Nathalie Barthélémy, a model and actress, with whom he had a son – one of his four children from three relationships.

One of his children with the German singer Nico, whom he never recognized, died last year.

In recent years, disputes among his children have become public as Delon’s health deteriorated following a stroke.

One of the darkest moments of his career dates back to the late 1960s, when the body of Stefan Markovic, a bodyguard and secretary of Delon, was found in a garbage dump near Paris.

Delon was investigated in connection with Markovic’s death, but he denied any involvement. The man who was eventually charged with the murder, a friend of Delon’s, was later acquitted.

Politicians and the film world paid tribute to Delon on Sunday. Véronique Jannot, a French actress who worked with him, said he was “a god,” adding that people had forgotten Delon’s cinematic legacy.

“It is extremely sad that he is gone, but at the same time it is a relief. He did not like the times we live in,” Jannot told BFM TV.

Paul Belmondo, the son of the late actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, who starred alongside Delon in the 1970 gangster film Borsalino, also told the television station: “It is a chapter in cinema history that is coming to an end, a chapter of our lives.”