Atlanta: Yolanda King, the Rev Martin Luther King Jr's eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died on late Tuesday. She was 51.
King died in Santa Monica, California, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Centre. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.
"She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said in a statement.
Former Mayor Andrew Young, a lieutenant of her father's who has remained close to the family, said King was going to her brother Dexter's home when she collapsed in the doorway.
Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006 after battling ovarian cancer and the effects of a stroke. Her struggle prompted her daughter to work with the American Heart Association to raise awareness about strokes, especially among blacks.
Yolanda King, who lived in California, was an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including Ghosts of Mississippi. She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 mini-series King.
"Yolanda was lovely. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," said the Rev Joseph Lowery, one of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement.
He added she was "thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama."
The Rev Jesse Jackson, who also worked with her father, said: "She lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle. The movement was in her DNA." The Rev Al Sharpton called her a "torch-bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right."
White House press secretary Tony Snow said US President George W Bush and the First Lady were sad to learn of King's death, adding, "Our thoughts are with the King family today."
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