ICONIC Australian TV and soap star Wendy Playfair has passed away aged 99.

Playfair, who was known for her role as Minnie Donovan in Prisoner: Cell Block H and her stints on Home and Away, was just five months away from turning 100.

She played two roles on the long running Aussie soap – in 2005 when starred as Evelyn Grey, and then returned as Audrey Long in 2009.

Playfair’s career spanned fifty years, consolidating her as one of Australia‘s most successful actresses.

Her death was announced on Instagram by podcast host Matt Batten, who had previously interviewed the star about her acclaimed career.

“The Playfair family have just advised me of the passing of the beautiful and incredibly talented Wendy Playfair, who has died peacefully at the age of 99,” he wrote.

“Wendy enjoyed a remarkable career that spanned many decades across Australian theatre, television and radio.

“She was a highly respected performer who contributed enormously to the Australian performing arts industry.”

Playfair’s role as Minnie Donovan was “one of the memorable characters in the show’s history“, Batten wrote.

Born in Woollahra, Sydney, Playfair began her career in radio in morning serials and plays.

She eventually got her break on TV in the 1960s.

Playfair appeared in countless cameo and guest starring roles in popular series such as Homicide, Hunter, The Young Doctors, Return to Eden, Spirited and Rake.

Her acting abilities were proven when she played dual roles in All Saints and Home and Away, and three roles on A Country Practice.

She also had parts in telemovies and films, including Ride a Wild Pony (aka Harness Racing) – the only Walt Disney film ever produced in Australia – and a pivotal role in the film Accidents Happen, opposite Geena Davis, in 2009.

She most recently played Moira Beckett in an episode of Packed to the Rafters before she retired from acting in 2013.