Pink Panther star Elke Sommer dead aged 85: Actress passes away 'peacefully' after battling heart failure

Published: 09:23 EDT, 29 October 2026 | Updated: 09:53 EDT, 29 October 2026 Pink Panther star Elke Sommer has died aged 85.The German actress, who starred opposite Peter Sellers in A Shot in the Dark, passed away 'peacefully' at her home in Los Angeles after battling heart failure.Her stepson Sebastian Walther confirmed the news, told German outlet Bild⁠: 'Elke passed away peacefully around 10 p.m.'Her death comes three months after her husband of 32 years Wolf Walther lost his battle with cancer.'Now she can finally be with her beloved husband again,' Sebastain added. An international sex symbol, Elke became one of Germany's best-known Hollywood stars in the 60s. Pink Panther star Elke Sommer dead aged 85: Actress passes away 'peacefully' after battling heart failure (pictured in 2000) A international sex symbol, Elke became one of Germany's best-known Hollywood stars in the '60s (pictured in 1966)Her performance in the 1963 film The Prize opposite Paul Newman earned her a Golden Globe in 1964.That same year, she appeared in Blake Edwards' A Shot in the Dark, part of the Pink Panther series. Elke played Maria Gambrelli, a maid suspected of murder whose innocence Sellers' Inspector Clouseau insists on proving.Her other films included The Art of Love, The Oscar, The Wrecking Crew and The Prisoner of Zenda.⁠She didn't just make her name on the big screen. Elke featured in three Playboy shoots in September 1964, December 1967 and September 1970.During an interview with the National Police Gazette in 1969, she admitted that she had painted naked on a hill outside her Beverly Hills home.'It's the best way to get a tan all over,' she quipped. She famously starred opposite Peter Sellers in A Shot in the Dark The actress stepped away from the spotlight in recent years and had become bed-bound in recent months before her death (pictured in 1979)Her final credit was the 2017 animated short, A Thousand Kisses, where she was the voice of Nette.The actress stepped away from the spotlight in recent years and had become bed-bound in recent months before her death.In 2014, she said in a rare interview that despite receiving occasional acting offers, she'd rather stay home.'I am dreaming of a role that's really different,' she explained. 'I would love to play an old hooker or a toothless street person. When this dream part comes along, I will shout it from the mountaintops. 'Until then, I can finally enjoy what I have, time with my husband and with our dog and my beautiful houses here in Beverly Hills and in Germany – life in a pure and unobstructed form.'Away from the screen, the actress was married twice. She first tied the knot to famed Hollywood columnist Joe Hyams in 1964. They divorced in 1981. Joe previously described his marriage as 'the best 17 years of [his] life' and had 'no regrets'.'When we were married 17 years ago, no one thought our marriage would last long,' he told UPI.Elke then met Wolf, who would become her husband of 32 years, in 1989.Wolf passed away in July this year at the age of 77. 'My heart is broken,' Elke said after his death.