BEVERLY HILLS — Actress Valerie Perrine died Monday morning at her Beverly Hills, California home at the age of 82. Her friend Stacey Souther announced her death on Facebook.

"It is with deep sadness that I share the heartbreaking news that Valerie has passed away," Souther wrote. "She faced Parkinson's disease with incredible courage and compassion, never once complaining."

Perrine had Parkinson's disease and was diagnosed with the condition in 2015. Souther launched a GoFundMe page to raise $35,000 for Perrine's farewell.

Born in Galveston, Texas, on September 3, 1943, Perrine began her career as a showgirl at the Stardust Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 1968. She transitioned to acting after being cast as Montana Wildhack in the 1972 film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five.

"I was at a small dinner party where an agent was looking for someone to play the role of Montana Wildhack in George Roy Hill's film production of 'Slaughterhouse-Five.' The agent saw something in me and thought I would be perfect for the part. That's how I became an actress," Perrine said in an interview.

Perrine received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1974 film Lenny. She starred in the 1973 film The Last American Hero and the 1976 film W. C. Fields and Me with Rod Steiger.

She played the character Eve Teschmacher in the 1978 film Superman: The Movie and reprised the role in the 1980 film Superman II. That same year, she appeared in the disco comedy Can't Stop the Music alongside the Village People and Caitlyn Jenner. The film was one of the two films that inspired the Golden Raspberry Awards.

Perrine starred in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman with Robert Redford. She became the first woman to intentionally show her breasts on television when she appeared in the 1973 telefilm Steambath on PBS. She was photographed several times for Playboy.

In later years, Perrine appeared in the 2000 film What Women Want and in television appearances during the 2000s. She made her final big-screen appearance in the 2014 film Silver Skies.