British actress Deborah Kerr, who shared one of cinema's most famous kisses with Burt Lancaster in "From Here to Eternity," has died, her agent said Thursday. She was 86.

Kerr, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, died Tuesday in Suffolk, eastern England, agent Anne Hutton said.

Born in Scotland in 1921, Kerr trained as a ballet dancer, began her acting career in regional British theaters and entertained the troops during World War II. Her first major screen role was in an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara" in 1941.

For many she will be remembered best for her clinch in the surf with Lancaster in the 1953 wartime drama "From Here to Eternity" -- regularly voted among the greatest screen kisses.

Other memorable roles included Anna Leonowens, the British governess who falls for the king of Siam in "The King and I" in 1956.

Kerr's film roles were eclectic, ranging from nuns to a "Bond girl" in the 007 spoof "Casino Royale."

She made two memorable appearances in films by British directing duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger -- in three roles as the hero's love interests in "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (1943), then as sister superior to a group of nuns facing temptation in the Himalayas in the fantastical "Black Narcissus" (1947).

In 1957, she and Cary Grant played star-crossed lovers who arrange to meet atop the Empire State Building in the enduring -- and much-imitated -- romance "An Affair to Remember."

Kerr was nominated six times for the best actress Academy Award, but never won. In 1993 she received an honorary Oscar for her contribution to the film industry.

In 1997 she was made a Commander of the Order of British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II.

Kerr is survived by her husband, Peter Viertel, two daughters and three grandchildren.