The iconic British fashion photographer Corinne Day has died at age 45 after a 14-year battle with brain cancer.

Day, a model turned photographer whose work appeared in all of the top fashion magazines, is best known for launching the career of then 15-year-old Kate Moss in 1990 after photographing her in a Summer of Love-themed spread for The Face magazine.

Some of the photos sparked controversy because they showed the teen model topless, while Day's later intimate images of Moss are credited with spurring the waif and heroin chic aesthetics that dominated '90s fashion.

Last August, Models.com published a note from Day's friends pleading for her fans to buy the photographer's limited edition prints of Moss to help pay for surgery that cost over $150,000.

"You may not know, but 10 years ago Corinne was diagnosed with a tumor on her brain," the note reads. "She has endured years of surgery and treatment, which has proven unsuccessful. She has suffered heartbreak and hardship, and as she has not been able to work for the past year, she has exhausted all her finances. Her only option to continue battling this severe illness is specialist treatment in Arizona, which has a very high success rate. If Corinne does not get this treatment, there is no hope for her."

While the sale of Day's photographs was successful and she was able to afford the surgery, her friends told the Daily Mail in February that the photographer was still "gravely ill" and "living each day at a time."

Day's Web site confirms that she passed peacefully at her home on Aug. 27 at 4pm. Her funeral will take place in Buckinghamshire, England, this Friday.

To see more of Day's iconic work, head over to corinneday.co.uk.

In other news, read which celebrity beat Moss as the woman most girls want to look like.