Bettencourt's daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, confirmed the death in a statement to French media, saying her mother died "peacefully" at her home in France overnight Wednesday.

"We all had a great admiration for Liliane Bettencourt who always looked after L'Oréal, the company and its employees, and was very attached to its success and development," said Jean Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L'Oréal Group, in a statement .

In 2007, Bettencourt-Meyers, an only child, filed a criminal suit, accusing her mother's friend, François-Marie Banier, of taking advantage of an elderly woman not in full control of her faculties.

"While she remained in the background most of her life, Mrs. Bettencourt had long tried to live down the stains of anti-Semitic activities and Nazi associations by her father and husband before and during World War II."

Bettencourt was known for her philanthropy, donating millions of dollars to education, museums and medical research, reports the Times, but she took a largely passive role as her father's successor at L'Oréal.