US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at 87 due to complications from pancreatic cancer.

Justice Ginsburg died at her home in Washington DC surrounded by her family, the US Supreme Court said.

She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and was a champion of women’s rights who became an icon for American liberals.

Young women particularly seemed to embrace the judge, affectionately referring to her as the Notorious RBG.

Hailing from a working-class family in Brooklyn, Justice Ginsburg won major gender discrimination cases before she was appointed to the Supreme Court.

She was only the second woman in history to sit on the highest court in the country, providing key votes in landmark rulings securing equal rights for women, expanding gay rights and safeguarding abortion rights.

Justice Ginsburg once said that despite graduating at the top of her Columbia University law school class, she struggled to find a law firm willing to hire her because she had “three strikes against her” – for being Jewish, female and a mother.

The 87-year-old announced in July that she was undergoing chemotherapy for lesions on her liver, after suffering five bouts of cancer beginning in 1999.

Former US president George Bush described her as a “smart and humourous trailblazer”, saying he was “fortunate” to have known her.

Hillary Clinton said she had “paved the way for so many women, including me”.

“There will never be another like her,” she added.

Chief Justice John G Roberts Jr was also among the first to pay tribute, saying: “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature.

“We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague.

“Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her – a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”

Nodding to her popularity across political lines, Donald Trump’s son Eric wrote on Twitter: “Justice Ginsburg was a remarkable woman with an astonishing work ethic. She was a warrior with true conviction and she has my absolute respect! #RIP.”

She was a household name in the US and numerous celebrities have paid tribute, including Hollywood actress Brie Larson, who said: “Thank you, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We’ll keep pushing our way into all the places we’ve yet to be invited.”

Writer and actress Mindy Kaling wrote: “Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the kind of scholar and patriot you get excited about explaining to your kids.

“The kind of person who you say ‘who knows, one day you could be HER’. I hope you rest well, RBG, you must have been tired from changing the world.”

Justice Ginsburg’s death just over six weeks before the US election will have profound consequences and is likely to set off a heated battle over who should choose her replacement in the conservative-majority court.

President Donald Trump will likely try to push a successor through the Republican-controlled Senate, moving the court even more to the right.

Mr Trump is likely to put forth a nominee in the coming days, according to ABC News.

But Democrats argue the seat should remain vacant until the outcome of the election is known.

US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president…

“She would want us all to fight as hard as we can to preserve her legacy.”

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In a statement dictated to her daughter days before her death, Justice Ginsburg said her “most fervent wish” was not to be replaced until a new president is installed, according to non-profit media organisation NPR.

She was married to prominent tax lawyer Martin Ginsburg, who died in 2010, and is survived by two children, Jane and James.

A private funeral ceremony will be held at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

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