The British star, who kept his illness private before his death, passed away in London today.
Rickman was best-known for his roles in films such as Love Actually, Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility, and the Harry Potter franchise.
A family statement released today, read: "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends."
The film industry will no doubt be in shock as his death comes just days after film and music legend David Bowie died aged 69, also from cancer.
It was only last year that Rickman confirmed that he and Rima had married in a private ceremony in New York City in 2012. The couple had no children together.
In an interview, Rickman was asked what he thought the secret to a happy relationship without marriage was when he dropped the bombshell.
"We are married. Just recently," he said. "It was great, because no one was there. After the wedding in New York we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and ate lunch."
Alan is survived by his wife Rima Horton who he met back in 1965
In keeping with their modest ceremony, the Harry Potter star wed Horton with a $200 band, which he laughingly admitted "she never wears".
Horton spent 20 years as a Labour party councillor for the Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council from 1986 to 2006.
Rickman boasts a glittering career, spanning four decades. He got his first break as the Vicomte de Valmont in the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.
He went on to gain much wider acclaim for his performances as Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series.
One of Alan's most memorable roles is playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood
Other film roles included the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply, Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee's 1995 film Sense and Sensibility, Harry in Love Actually, and P. L. O'Hara in An Awfully Big Adventure.
More recently, he played Judge Turpin in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
In 1995, he was awarded the Golden Globe, Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of Rasputin in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny.
The much-loved actor won a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award in his lifetime.
Rickman is still to be seen in Eye in the Sky - which is a thriller about drone warfare that won rave reviews at last year's Toronto Film Festival - as well as repeating his voiceover as Absolem the Caterpillar in Alice Through The Looking Glass.
Despite his major success, Rickman recently admitted that it hadn't always been that way and said that there were periods when he was out of work for "long periods of time".
He admitted: "You could ask any actor about their early days, and I think you know — if you decide you’re going to do it, and then you train and you’ve committed — you know there are going to be long periods out of work. And I wasn’t different than anybody else.
"I know there are some lucky young actors now, they get made a star in a minute, and you worry a little for the moment when that gets snatched away. It’s a different world now.
"I don’t remember it now, but I’m sure the difficult moments made me stronger, or at least that’s what I’ve trained myself to think."
Rickman was born in Acton, west London. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his career on stage after graduating, including working on productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Along with his successful acting career, the British star was also a talented director and worked on 1997's The Winter Guest, before returning to the director's chair after nearly 20 years for A Little Chaos, which starred Kate Winslet.
He said, when asked what first drew him to direct: "It's just a specific response to a piece of work that you get offered.
"With this ... it's a lot to do with the fact that I have an arts school background and I ran a design group and I've directed in the theater a lot in the intervening years.
"Images jump around and you want to be the person that makes those images real."
express
More recently, he played Judge Turpin in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
In 1995, he was awarded the Golden Globe, Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of Rasputin in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny.
The actor also starred as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films
The much-loved actor won a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award in his lifetime.
Rickman is still to be seen in Eye in the Sky - which is a thriller about drone warfare that won rave reviews at last year's Toronto Film Festival - as well as repeating his voiceover as Absolem the Caterpillar in Alice Through The Looking Glass.
Despite his major success, Rickman recently admitted that it hadn't always been that way and said that there were periods when he was out of work for "long periods of time".
Alan enjoying a night out at the theatre in London just last month
He admitted: "You could ask any actor about their early days, and I think you know — if you decide you’re going to do it, and then you train and you’ve committed — you know there are going to be long periods out of work. And I wasn’t different than anybody else.
"I know there are some lucky young actors now, they get made a star in a minute, and you worry a little for the moment when that gets snatched away. It’s a different world now.
"I don’t remember it now, but I’m sure the difficult moments made me stronger, or at least that’s what I’ve trained myself to think."
Rickman was born in Acton, west London. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began his career on stage after graduating, including working on productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Along with his successful acting career, the British star was also a talented director and worked on 1997's The Winter Guest, before returning to the director's chair after nearly 20 years for A Little Chaos, which starred Kate Winslet.
He said, when asked what first drew him to direct: "It's just a specific response to a piece of work that you get offered.
"With this ... it's a lot to do with the fact that I have an arts school background and I ran a design group and I've directed in the theater a lot in the intervening years.
"Images jump around and you want to be the person that makes those images real."
The actor won several awards throughout his career
express
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