Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state, died Wednesday at the age of 84.

“We are heartbroken to announce that Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and the first woman to hold that position, passed away earlier today. The cause was cancer. She was surrounded by family and friends. We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend,” her family said in a statement.

Born Marie Jana Korbel in Prague on May 15, 1937, she was the daughter of a diplomat, Joseph Korbel. The family was Jewish and converted to Roman Catholicism when she was 5. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps.

President Bill Clinton chose Albright as America’s top diplomat in 1996, and she served in that capacity for the last four years of the Clinton administration. She had previously been Clinton’s ambassador to the United Nations.

While she had a long, illustrious career in government, she continued working in the private sector as an author, board member and even a sometime actor. FOX Business takes a look at her post-government achievements. 

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President Bill Clinton chose Madeleine Albright as America’s top diplomat in 1996. (AP Photo/Zach Gibson, File)

New York Times Best Selling Author

After leaving her cabinet position in 2001, Albright became a New York Times best-selling author several times over, beginning with her 2003 book, “Madam Secretary: A Memoir.”

Within that work, she revealed that Madeleine was not her original name and that her “naturalization certificate and marriage license both read ‘Marie Jana Korbel.’”

Albright’s other best-sellers include “The Might and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God and World Affairs,” published in 2006, followed by “Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box” in 2009, and “Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948,” which was published in 2012.

Hollywood Stints 

Albright appeared on the TV series “Madam Secretary.” (Paramount)

She made time for Hollywood, appearing on hit TV series, including “Madam Secretary,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Gilmore Girls,” according to IMBD. 

NYSE Board Member 

Albright served as a member of the Board of Directors for the New York Stock Exchange, now owned by Intercontinental Exchange. In 2003, she accepted the position from then NYSE Chairman and CEO Dick Grasso, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

In 2005, Albright announced her intent to step down from the exchange. The timing coincided with the blowback Grasso received over his $187 million pay package, with governance experts disputing proper oversight linked to his compensation. 

Following her service in the Clinton administration, she headed a global strategy firm, Albright Stonebridge, and was chair of an investment advisory company that focused on emerging markets.

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FOX Business’ Lucas Manfredi and Breck Dumas contributed to this report.