Wood's publicist, Neil Redding, said she died today at her London home "after a short but brave battle with cancer." Wood got her break in 1974 winning the TV talent contest "New Faces."
As a woman from the north of England, she was an outsider in the world of British comedy, but became a well-known standup, and got her own TV show in the 1980s with "Victoria Wood as Seen on TV."
It featured the spoof soap opera "Acorn Antiques," which many consider a classic.
Wood also created and starred in the late-1990s sitcom "Dinnerladies," which featured a mostly female cast including Julie Walters, Celia Imrie and Maxine Peake.