Her agents said her life and career were "driven by her strong Christian values and commitment to public service". They also said she loved the "cut and thrust of political debate" and remained active in politics long after leaving Parliament.
According to the statement, Widdecombe was "still actively campaigning for Reform UK" despite having left Parliament 16 years earlier.
A staunch Catholic, Widdecombe was frequently a controversial figure during and after her parliamentary career because of her socially conservative views. She opposed abortion and drew criticism over comments about the LGBT community. In 2019, she faced backlash after suggesting science might one day "produce an answer" to being gay.
What role did she play in Brexit and Reform UK?
Widdecombe was a firm supporter of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. From 2019 to 2020, she served as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament for South West England.
In 2023, after the Brexit Party had become Reform UK, she joined Nigel Farage's party and made a series of appearances as its immigration and justice spokesperson.
Following the announcement of her death, Farage said Widdecombe had played a "decisive role" in getting Brexit "over the line".
"When Ann Widdecombe decided to stand for The Brexit Party in the snap 2019 European Elections, it was a big moment and huge boost. The voters loved her," he wrote on X, adding that she would be "missed by us all".
Who paid tribute after the announcement?
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Widdecombe as a "formidable politician who was never afraid to speak her mind and fought hard for what she believed".
Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative MP and former party leader, said Widdecombe expressed her views "strongly and straight, which was refreshing in many senses and sometimes difficult".
He also pointed to her later television profile, saying that her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing revealed "a new lease of life, an inner Ann that we never had any sight of at all".
Health Secretary James Murray, a Labour minister, told Times Radio on Friday morning that Widdecombe "was never shy of having quite firm views and sharing them quite willingly".
"I can't say I always agreed with her views, but she was such a part of our politics," Murray said, adding that "everyone can recognise her contribution to politics" and public life.
Why was she also known beyond Westminster?
For many viewers, Widdecombe was not just a former minister or Brexit campaigner. She became a television fixture after appearing on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, where she reached the semi-finals with professional partner Anton Du Beke.
Her agents acknowledged that chapter with a fairly sharp aside of their own, saying she would be "best (or worst?) remembered for her unforgettable appearances on Strictly Come Dancing, defying the judges week-after-week as the public delighted in her unsuccessful attempts to follow the choreography of the long-suffering Anton Du Beke".
She later appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and finished as runner-up in 2018.
It was an unusual post-Parliamentary life: part political commentator, part campaigner, part reality TV contestant. Subtle, it was not. But it kept her in public view for years after her Commons career ended.
