Bengaluru: Yesteryear actor L V Sharada Rao, who played the iconic role in Phaniyamma, passed away on Thursday morning. She was suffering from breast cancer and died at Shankara Hospital in the city at 7.30 am.

She is known for her roles in films like Vamsha Vriksha (1971), Adi Shankaracharya (1983) and Phaniyamma (1983). 

Sharada won national award for her first movie Vamsha Vriksha directed by B V Karanth, Girish Karnad. She had been in the lead character in many of the G L Iyer movies.