Former Divinyls singer Chrissy Amphlett has died in New York after a long battle with cancer.

Amphlett, 53, lived in New York with her husband, former Divinyls drummer Charley Drayton.

Hers was a life of passion and creativity; she always lived it to the fullest.

She revealed in 2010 that she had breast cancer, and she had also battled multiple sclerosis.

The Geelong-born Amphlett, the cousin of the 1960s pop icon ''Little Pattie'' Thompson, rose to fame as the feisty lead singer of the Divinyls, who formed in 1980.

Famous for Amphlett's sexy schoolgirl outfit, torn fishnets and wild on-stage antics, the Divinyls had their first hits, Boys in Town and Only Lonely, after appearing in the 1982 film Monkey Grip.

They had four Top 10 albums in Australia and one in the US. Their biggest-selling single, I Touch Myself, in 1991, was a No.1 hit in Australia, and made the Top 10 in the US and Britain.

The band was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006, and, after a tour in 2007, split up.
Speaking to Fairfax in 2010, Amphlett said while her initial diagnosis had "thrown her for six", she was determined to continue recording.

"I'll get over it - I've got songs to sing, I've got stages to perform on. I'm a keep-on-going sort of girl,'' she said.

Because of her MS, Amphlett had said she was unable to receive radiation treatment for the cancer.