Philip Roth, one of the greatest US writers of the 20th century, died on Tuesday at the age of 85.

His death was caused by congestive heart failure, The New York Times newspaper reported, citing the novelist's close friend Judith Thurman.

Roth, born in 1933, has become famous for his frank and often irreverent prose. His best-known novel, the one that made him a celebrity, is Portnoy's Complaint, bold and humorous monologue of a young Jewish man, published in 1969.

In 2012, Roth announced his retirement from writing.