'Emmanuelle' star Kristel in hospital after stroke: agent

Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, known for her role as the eponymous heroine of the erotic "Emmanuelle" film series, is in an Amsterdam hospital following a stroke, her agent said Minday.

"We don't know what the future holds," Henriette Hoogenboezem told AFP, adding that the 59-year-old also had serious cancer problems. "We are very worried."

She said Kristel had the stroke some three weeks ago after apparently successful treatment for throat cancer. She was also to have begun treatment for liver cancer but this had been put off.

Kristel became famous with her first movie, "Emmanuelle", which appeared in 1974 and described the erotic adventures of a young woman in Asia. A worldwide success, it was shown in a cinema on the Champs-Elysees in Paris for 13 years.

A series of sequels followed, also starring Kristel, with "Emmanuelle 2" in 1975, "Goodbye Emmanuelle" in 1977 and "Emmanuelle 4" en 1984.

AFP