March 23 (UPI) — Valerie Perrine, best known for her Oscar-nominated role as Lenny Bruce’s wife in Lenny and as Lex Luthor’s wife in two Superman movies, died Monday at age 82.

Perrine, who was a Las Vegas showgirl and was the first woman to appear topless on broadcast television, faced declining health from Parkinson’s disease over the last decade.

Her death, at her home in Beverly Hills, was announced in a post on her Facebook page.

“It is with deep sadness that I share the heartbreaking news that Valerie has passed away,” the post said. “She was a true inspiration who lived life to the fullest — and what a magnificent life it was. The world feels less beautiful without her in it.”

Perrine was born on Sept. 3, 1943, in Galveston, Texas, to a Scottish dancer and a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who briefly attended the University of Arizona but dropped out to become a Vegas showgirl.

She was cast in her first role, as Montana Wildhack in the adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut novel Slaughterhouse-Five in 1972.

In 1973, she was the first woman whose breasts were shown on TV, in the PBS film Steambath, which The Hollywood Reporter said helped the nonprofit raise funds.

Her appearance alongside Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor in two Superman movies as his secretary endeared her to fans far beyond any other role she took.

A GoFundMe that has been set up to help pay for her funeral and burial in the Hollywood Hills said that as her Parkinson’s progressed — her tremors started in 2011, four years before she was diagnosed — Perrine’s workload dried up because it was more difficult for her to work.

The fundraiser was set up by her brother, Ken Perrine, who also has Parkinson’s disease.