Tributes have been paid to an actress who died after battling a lung illness.

Clare Rimmer, 54, died three weeks after a hip operation.

Her husband Mark Lanahan, 43, paid tribute to the accomplished singer and actress.

He said: "She was given some of the most damning news that she had a lung disease and she had to walk with a stick.

"But, she turned that around. Her motto was always carpe diem."

The 54-year-old died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, on June 24.

She grew up in India the daughter of a vicar.

She received scholarships to study opera and acting at the Guild Hall School, in London. After graduating, she moved to New York where she worked as a singer in jazz clubs.

Clare returned to England and took up a number of acting roles, performing character parts in the original Evita musical among others.

She socialised with the art scene elite and had a year-long relationship with the actor John Hurt. She also famously met the artist Francis Bacon.

A funeral and Requiem Mass will be held on July 8 at St Martin's Church, Brighton, at 3pm. It will be followed by a celebration at the Old Market, in Hove, from 4.30pm.

Leave your tributes to Clare below.