Alain Delon, the French actor icon starring in films like Plein Soleil, Le Samourai, and Rocco and His Brothers, passed away at 88 years old, according to a statement by his children to the media in France.

"Alain Fabien, Anouchka, Anthony, accompanied by Loubo, are in deep sorrow to announce the departure of their father. He passed away peacefully at his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and family," the statement read, adding that the family would appreciate being left alone for some time now.

By the 1960s, Delon had become one of the central individuals in the renewal of French cinema, portraying characters that emanated coolness and mystery. He would work with some of France's most famous directors, such as Jean-Pierre Melville, René Clément, and Jacques Deray. He has also worked with other legendary filmmakers like Luchino Visconti, Louis Malle, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Jean-Luc Godard, though he never quite made a significant impact in Hollywood.

Born in 1935, in Sceaux, a suburb of Paris, Delon had a stormy youth: he was expelled from several schools before he decided to leave school at age 14 to work in a butcher's shop. Later, he served with the French Navy, where he engaged in combat during the colonial war in Vietnam. Dishonorably discharged in 1956, Delon drifted into acting. His breakthrough came when he was spotted at Cannes by Hollywood producer David O. Selznick; however, Delon went back to work with his French colleagues, making his debut in the 1957 thriller Send a Woman When the Devil Fails of Yves Allégret.

Delon's good looks soon had him playing leads. In 1958, he starred opposite Romy Schneider in Christine, and the on-set romance that flourished between the two blossomed into sex-symbol status.

In 1960, Delon made a name for himself in two big films: the Patricia Highsmith adaptation Plein Soleil (also known as Purple Noon) and Rocco and His Brothers. The former, a French take on The Talented Mr. Ripley, launched Delon to stardom; Rocco paired him with Visconti, one of the celebrated masters of European cinema. Delon kept up that momentum with turns in L'Eclisse in 1962 and The Leopard in 1963, the latter cementing his reputation in European cinema.

Although his international star status was gaining ground during this period, Delon's attempts to break into the American market were not so successful. In films like The Yellow Rolls-Royce and Is Paris Burning?, his presence was not very instrumental in establishing further success in the American film industry for him.

His role as a stoic hitman in the 1967 work of Jean-Pierre Melville became one of Delon's seminal roles; it generated a string of crime dramas that included The Sicilian Clan and The Red Circle. He would star next in La Piscine with his former lover Romy Schneider; this would be later remade as A Bigger Splash in 2016.

The life of Delon was not without scandals. The "Markovic affair" in 1968, related to the murder of his bodyguard Stefan Markovic, and the discovery of compromising photos allegedly linked with France's elite, did raise quite a scandal. Nothing stuck, but Delon's relationship with unsavory characters became very public.

In the 1970s, Delon worked uninterruptedly with ever-diminishing impact. He won a César for best film with Monsieur Klein in 1977 and another César for best actor in 1985 for Notre Histoire. Besides acting, Delon produced films, directed some, and turned promoter for boxers and furniture designer.

In the 1990s, Delon began slowing down and finally announced his retirement in 1997. He did make one final appearance in 2008 when he briefly returned for a performance of Julius Caesar in the French film Asterix at the Olympic Games.

Delon's personal life was as action-packed as his career, with relationships including Romy Schneider, Mireille Darc, and the Dutch model Rosalie van Breemen, by whom he had two children. He was married to Nathalie Delon from 1964 to 1968, and they had a son, Anthony. In 1962, singer Nico gave birth to a son, Christian; Delon denied paternity, and the child later went to live with Delon's mother and was adopted by her.