Grammy Awards 2015: Joan Rivers wins posthumous award

Rivers' memoir 'Diary of a Mad Diva' won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album

Joan Rivers' funeral is set to take place in New York on Sunday 7 September (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg/File)

Her career spanned several decades and was never far from controversy but on Sunday evening the late Joan Rivers really had the last laugh when the comedian was posthumously awarded a Grammy Award.

The legendary comedian and former host of Fashion Police was awarded the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for her candid memoir "Diary of a Mad Diva".

Rivers had been nominated for a Best Comedy Album Grammy once before, back in 1984 for "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most?"

Her daughter, Melissa Rivers, accepted the award on behalf of her late mother, alongside her son, Cooper Endicott.

(Frazer Harrison | Getty Images)

"If my mother was here tonight, she would not only be honored and thrilled to be holding her first Grammy, she would most likely have it copied and on the air on QVC by 11," Melissa Rivers said.

Joan Rivers died in September 2014 after she suffered brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen during a routine operation.

During her lengthy career, the comedian - famous for her frank style - often came under fire for the comments she made off stage, on everything from fur to the war in Gaza.

Last summer, she made one of her most shocking statements when she said that Palestinians killed in the war with Israel deserved to be dead. “When you declare war, you declare war. They started it. We now don't count who's dead. You're dead, you deserve to be dead. Don’t you dare make me feel bad about that,” she told TMZ.