Stan Winston, the Oscar-winning visual-effects guru died Sunday evening of multiple myeloma at the age of 62, according to a representative from Stan Winston Studio.

Winston died at his home in Malibu surrounded by his family. He had been battling the plasma cancer for seven years.

"The entertainment industry has lost a genius, and I lost one of my best friends with the death Sunday night of Stan Winston," Governor and former"Terminator" star Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Stan's work and four Oscars speak for themselves and will live on forever. What will live forever in my heart is the way that Stan loved everyone and treated each of his friends like they were family."

Winston worked with such directors as Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Tim Burton in a career spanning almost four decades and won visual effects Oscars for 1986's "Aliens," 1992's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and 1993's "Jurassic Park." He also won a makeup Oscar for 1992's "Batman Returns."

He was nominated for his work on "Heartbeeps," "Predator," "Edward Scissorhands," "Batman Returns," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "A.I."

He last worked with director Jon Favreau on the Hollywood blockbuster "Iron Man."

As a child growing up in Virginia, Winston enjoyed drawing, puppetry and classic horror films. He moved to Southern California after graduating from university in 1968 to become an actor but instead worked behind the scenes and completed a three-year makeup apprenticeship program at Walt Disney Studios in 1972.