Eleanor Parker, a three-time Academy Award nominee, died at the age of 91 on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

Family friend Richard Gale said Parker died Monday morning due to complications from pneumonia at Palm Springs medical facility.

"She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children at a medical facility near her home in Palm Springs," Gale said.

Known for her portrayals of strong-willed women and playing a scheming baroness in "The Sound of Music," Parker was nominated for Oscars in 1950 ("Caged"), 1951 ("Detective Story") and 1955 ("Interrupted Melody").

"Eleanor Parker was and is one of the most beautiful ladies I have ever known," said Christopher Plummer, who starred with her in "The Sound of Music". "Both as a person and as a beauty. I hardly believe the sad news, for I was sure she was enchanted and would live forever."

Growing up in Cedarsville, Ohio, Parker reportedly always yearned to be an actress, and when the family moved to Cleveland, she began taking acting lessons, according to the AP.

Parker landed her first major role as Mildred Rogers in the 1946 remake of "Of Human Bondage," after she was discovered at the Pasadena Playhouse, according to the AP.

"I'm primarily a character actress," she said in a 1988 interview, explaining why she never achieved the stardom of so many of her co-stars. "I've portrayed so many diverse individuals on the screen that my own personality never emerged."

In her career as a leading lady, Parker played opposite some of the top leading actors of the day. She starred with Stewart Granger in "Scaramouche," with Robert Taylor in "Above and Beyond," with William Holden in "Escape from Fort Bravo" and opposite Charlton Heston in "The Naked Jungle."

Her breakthrough performance came as a prison inmate in the 1950 film "Caged," which brought her first Best Actress Oscar nomination, the AP reported.

Parker worked only infrequently after "The Sound of Music," appearing in films and on such TV shows as "Fantasy Island," ''Murder, She Wrote" and "The Love Boat." She also starred in the short-lived 1960s TV series "Bracken's World."

Parker's first three marriages ended in divorce. The actress leaves behind two sons, two daughters, and a stepdaughter.