Pierce Brosnan's daughter Charlotte has died at the age of just 42.

The mother-of-two passed away at her London home on Friday after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer - the same disease which killed her mother Cassandra 22 years ago.

Mr Brosnan said last night: ‘On June 28 my darling daughter Charlotte Emily passed on to eternal life, having succumbed to ovarian cancer. 

'She was surrounded by her husband Alex, children Isabella and Lucas and brothers Christopher and Sean.

‘Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity, courage and dignity. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl.

‘We pray for her and that the cure for this wretched disease will be close at hand soon. We thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences.’

The Irish actor reportedly flew back from Eastern Europe, where he has been filming spy thriller November Man, to the UK to be at his daughter's bedside.

Charlotte, who was adopted by the actor after he married her mother, leaves behind her husband, artist Alex Smith, and children Isabella, 15, and eight-year-old Lucas. She is also survived by her brothers Christopher, Sean, Dylan and Paris.

Cassandra was 43 when she died of ovarian cancer, which can have genetic causes due to faults in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

Hereditary cancers came to prominence earlier this year when Angelina Jolie announced that she had undergone a double mastectomy after discovering that she had faulty genes which made it much more likely that she would develop breast or ovarian cancer.

20% OF WOMEN CARRY A GENE WHICH CAUSES OVARIAN CANCER

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK, with the lifetime risk of a woman developing it being about two per cent.

Over 80 per cent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are over 50, though it can occur in younger women. The risk of cancer is increased for some women with a strong family history.

If two or more of a woman’s first degree ‘blood relatives’ (i.e. mother, sister, daughter) have been diagnosed with ovarian or breast cancer, particularly before the age of 50, then the risk is significantly increased.

Women who have one first-degree relative with breast cancer, diagnosed under the age of 40 or two first or second-degree relatives with breast cancer diagnosed over the age of 50, also have a slightly increased risk.

Changes in two genes - called BRCA1 and BRCA2 - increase the risk of ovarian and breast cancer.

Rarely, one of these genetic mutations runs in a family, and members of the family who inherit the gene have an increased risk of these cancers.

However it is actually quite rare to develop cancer because of an inherited faulty gene, with only 5–10 per cent of cancers thought to be linked to one. 

In fact, up to 20 per cent of women carry a gene that can predispose them to it, Professor Hani Gabra, Director of the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre in London, told Mail Online.

According to Macmillan Cancer, if a woman has only have one relative who was middle-aged or elderly when they developed ovarian cancer, or a relative with breast or ovarian cancer on each side of the family, a woman’s risk may not be significantly increased.

Charlotte was nine years old when her mother Cassandra, an Australian actress who played a Bond girl in For Your Eyes Only, married Mr Brosnan at Chelsea Registry Office in 1980.

Charlotte and her brother Christopher, from Cassandra's previous marriage to Dermot, were joined by a half-sibling Sean in 1983.

Although Pierce and Charlotte were not biologically related, he has previously spoken of the close relationship he enjoyed with her and her brother after he married Cassandra.

'We just clicked as a family,' he said. 'To begin with I was Pierce, then I was Daddy Pierce, and then I just became Dad. Charlotte and Chris have just been amazing in my life.'

Mr Brosnan adopted his wife's children after their biological father Dermot Harris died in 1986, and they changed their surname to his.

Cassandra became ill while filming in India in 1987 and after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, fought a four-year battle with the disease.

She was just 43 when she died in Los Angeles in December 1991.

Over 80 per cent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are over 50, though it can also occur in younger women.

But the risk of cancer is increased for some women with a strong family history.

If two or more of a woman’s first degree ‘blood relatives’ (i.e. mother, sister, daughter) have been diagnosed with ovarian or breast cancer, particularly  before the age of 50, then the risk is significantly increased.

Changes in two genes - called BRCA1 and BRCA2 - increase the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and these genetic mutations can run in a family.

However, it is actually quite rare to develop cancer because of an inherited faulty gene, with only 5–10 per cent of cancers thought to be linked to one.

Around 20 per cent of female population carry a gene that can predispose them to ovarian cancer - and half of them do not have any family history of the disease, Professor Hani Gabra, Director of the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre in London, told MailOnline.

When Hollywood megastar Miss Jolie discovered that she was carrying a faulty version of the BRCA1 gene, she opted to undergo a double mastectomy to minimise her risk of contracting breast cancer.

The Tomb Raider actress went public with her health struggles earlier this year in a bid to encourage women to get themselves tested for genetic defects.

In an interview with the Mail on Sunday in March, Mr Brosnan spoke about drawing on his own family's experiences in order to play a widower who falls in love with a cancer sufferer in his latest film Love Is All You Need.

Pierce and Cassandra's youngest son Sean was only eight years old when she died.

He told the MoS: 'I went through it all, very publicly. Such things draw a mark across your heart and it’s always a part of your life. To watch someone you love have their life eaten away – bit by bit, by this insidious and horrid  disease – becomes an indelible part of your psyche.

'It certainly did for me and, of course, when I received this script, the challenge of playing this part was not lost on me.'

Three years following Cassandra's death, Pierce met journalist Keely Shaye Smith, who he went on to marry in 2001.

They have two sons together - 16-year-old Dylan and Paris, 12.

In the interview, Pierce added: 'I know what it’s like to be a widower and what it’s like to find love again.

'So I know there’s hope and that you have to learn to get on with it. Ups and downs are what life is all about. But the memory of Cassie and her fight against cancer is never forgotten.

‘Keely has always been kind and compassionate and encouraged me to mourn Cassie. I think of Cassie all the time – my son Sean is also her son, of course, and he’s 29 now.'

Charlotte battled drug dependency and depression in her early thirties and volunteered for treatment at the Priory Clinic in 2003.

It was her third stay at the £4,000-a-week rehab centre in Richmond, London, after she developed depression following a temporary split from her long-term partner Alex.

She had previously been treated there for cocaine addiction, and her brother Christopher had received similar therapy for drink and drug addictions.

HOW ANGELINA JOLIE PUT DEADLY CANCER GENE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The dangers posed by hereditary cancers were widely publicised earlier this year thanks to the efforts of Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie.

The 38-year-old actress revealed in May that she had been diagnosed with a faulty version of the BRCA1 gene, which made her highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer.

Both her mother and her grandmother died of ovarian cancer, at the ages of 56 and 45 respectively, while her mother also suffered from breast cancer.

Miss Jolie therefore decided to undergo a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery to minimise her chances of developing the illness.

She first went under the knife in February, and had her final round of surgery in April. The star went public with her decision in May, saying that she wanted to encourage women to get tested for the defective gene so that they could take preventive action if necessary.

'I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer,' Miss Jolie wrote in the New York times.

Many celebrities took to Twitter to offer their condolences. Former Bond girl Denise Richards, who starred alongside Mr Brosnan in The World is Not Enough, wrote on Twitter: 'My heart goes out to Pierce Brosnan & his family... so devastating.' 

Stephanie Zimbalist, who played opposite the actor in hit TV show Remington Steele, posted on Facebook: 'Sad co-star news to announce. Please join us in sending love, prayers and sympathy to Pierce Brosnan and his family for the death of his daughter Charlotte.' 

TV presenter Eamonn Holmes said on Twitter: 'Terribly sad to read this morning about the death of actor Pierce Brosnan's daughter from Ovarian Cancer. Thoughts and prayers to the family.

'Pierce Brosnan has been the nicest, most friendly, accessible, down to earth movie star I have met. He's had more than his share of sadness.'

License To Kill actor Robert Davi said: 'Been informed my friend Pierce Brosnan lost his daughter to an illness - my prayers go out to him and his family.'

Miles Anthony, agent for Ms Brosnan's brother Sean, said: 'My thoughts and prayers are with my client and friend Sean Brosnan who lost his beautiful sister Charlotte over the weekend. Love you buddy.'

Annwen Jones of Target Ovarian Cancer paid tribute to Ms Brosnan, and called for women to be aware of the risk of hereditary cancers.

'Our deepest condolences go out to the family of Charlotte Brosnan, particularly following the deaths of other family members to the same disease,' she said.

'Too few women understand the connection between familial breast and ovarian cancer, and more must be done to raise awareness of the familial links of ovarian cancer, and improve treatments.

'We encourage all women to know their family history - on both their mother's and father's sides, and visit their doctor with any concerns.'