Nora Ephron, the celebrated writer and director of romantic comedies such as "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail," died on Tuesday. She was 71.
Ephron died in a New York City hospital after a long battle with leukemia, according to The Hollywood Reporter. News of Ephron's passing away follows reports from earlier this afternoon that she was gravely ill and almost certainly in her final hours.
Nora Ephron was a celebrated screenwriter, playwright and director and considered a Hollywood pioneer for being one of the first women to write and direct her own films.
Ephron made her feature screenwriting debut with "Silkwood" (1983), which earned her an Oscar nomination. One of her most beloved screenplays was another Oscar nominee, "When Harry Met Sally" (1989), the highly influential romantic comedy that chronicled the longtime friendship and later romance between two New Yorkers (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan). Ephron went on to direct Ryan and Tom Hanks in both "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and "You've Got Mail" (1998).
Most recently, Nora Ephron wrote and directed "Julie & Julia" (2009), starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Her other writing and directing credits include "Mixed Nuts" (1994), "Michael" (1996), "Lucky Numbers" (2000) and "Bewitched" (2005).
Ephron was married to writer Nicholas Pileggi ("Goodfellas," "Casino") and has two sons, Jacob and Max, from her previous marriage to investigative reporter Carl Bernstein.
