Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz, who helped bring her country's films to the world and became a star in France, died on Tuesday aged 51 after battling cancer, her agent said.

A mother of two, the actress, screenwriter and director appeared in films including "The Girl on the Train" alongside Catherine Deneuve and "Ashes and Blood".

Her last film, "Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem", which she co-directed with her brother Shlomi Elkabetz, was nominated in the foreign language category for the 2015 Golden Globe Awards.

Elkabetz, who had never taken acting classes, received numerous awards in Israel and abroad as both an actress and director.

She was born in 1964 in southern Israel, with her parents Jews of Moroccan origin.