(AFP) - French film legend Alain Delon, a divisive star known to some as a sex symbol and to others as an egotistical chauvinist, has died aged 88, his children announced Sunday.

The actor, known for his roles in classics "Purple Noon" (1960) and "Le Samourai" (1967), died in the early hours of the morning, his son Anthony told AFP. He had been suffering with lymphoma.

"Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, as well as (his dog) Loubo, are deeply saddened to announce the passing of their father," Delon's children said in a statement to AFP.

"He passed away peacefully in his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and his family," said the statement, which came after months of public family feuding over the star's weakening health.

Delon had millions of fans around the world but also drew legions of critics, with feminists appalled by the lifetime achievement award the Cannes Film Festival gave him in 2019.

In his later years he lived largely as a recluse, his personal life keeping him in the headlines despite being a rarity on-screen since the 1990s.

In 2023, his three children filed a complaint against his live-in assistant Hiromi Rollin, accusing her of harassment and threatening behaviour.

The siblings went on to wage a public battle in the media and the courts, arguing over the star's state of health, which included a stroke in 2019.

He faced lifelong controversy over his relationship with women, with his sons previously accusing him of domestic violence. While Delon denied this, he admitted slapping women who attacked him during quarrels.

He had a series of tumultuous affairs, describing German actor Romy Schneider as the "love of my life" after their relationship in the 1960s.

German-born Velvet Underground singer Nico claimed he was the father of her son, Christian Aaron Boulogne -- something Delon continually denied up to Boulogne's death in 2023 from a heroin overdose.

Delon married Nathalie Delon in 1964 in a stormy relationship that ended in divorce in 1969, with other high-profile relationships including pop diva Dalida and model-turned-actor Mireille Darc.

- Instinctive genius -

Far from a cerebral actor, Delon was considered an instinctive genius. He prided himself on never having worked on his technique, rather relying on charisma.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Delon a "French monument" who "played legendary roles and made the world dream".

Fellow 1960s star Brigitte Bardot told AFP his death left "a huge void that nothing and no one will be able to fill".

Former president of the Cannes festival, Gilles Jacob, paid tribute to Delon as "a lion... an actor with a steely gaze", while Alberto Barbera, director of the Venice film festival, said he was an "icon" who had climbed "to the Olympus of the immortals".

Delon's looks were cinematic gold for filmmakers in the 1960s, playing roles of pretty boy killers and mysterious schemers like in "Purple Noon" -- later remade as "The Talented Mr Ripley".

He went on to set the template for one of Hollywood's favourite tropes -- the mysterious, cerebral hitman -- with his staggering performance as the silent killer in Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai".

Directors from Martin Scorsese to Quentin Tarantino all acknowledge a debt to the inner life Delon gave his stylish killer -- although the French actor never made it big in Hollywood.

Delon made his last major public appearance on the red carpet to receive an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019.

"It's a bit of a posthumous tribute, but from my lifetime," he said when receiving the award.

Delon lived out his final years at home in a small village in France, surrounded by high walls, where he planned to be buried not far from his dogs.

- 'Very sad' -

Outside the entrance to his home in Douchy-Montcorbon, fans on Sunday placed flowers and gathered to pay their respects.

"It's a part of our youth that is gone, it's very sad," said Marie Arnold, laying white flowers with her sister Michele.

An accordion player, who gave his name as "Titi", said Delon had asked him to play in front of the estate on the day of his death.

"Alain is in a deep, chosen solitude, in another world, in the past with people he very much loved," his former partner Darc told AFP in 2015.

Delon also drew criticism for his support of polarising politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, who was in favour of the death penalty and spoke against same-sex relationships.

But fans who adored him will think back to his opening line in the film "Le Samourai": "There is no deeper solitude than that of the samurai, except that of a tiger in the jungle."

© Agence France-Presse