Nora Ephron, celebrated author, screenwriter, and three-time Oscar nominee, passed away yesterday at the age of 71. The cause of death was pneumonia brought on by the acute myeloid leukemia she was battling.
Nora was the genius behind classic romantic comedies such as When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and, most recently, Julia and Julia. Her death is a tragedy felt by all who loved her, knew her, worked with her, and watched her films.
She was not simply a writer, but also a role model for women due to her success in navigating a male-dominated industry. As Newsday describes, Ephron was “perhaps the only female filmmaker in Hollywood to amass so many well-known commercial hits that her name became synonymous with a genre. ‘Nora-Ephron movies’focused on smart, modern women who wanted a little old-fashioned magic in their lives and usually got it…her movies proved hugely profitable, and their quotable lines and memorable scenes often became cultural touchstones.”
Ephron at times pointed out how difficult it was to be in her position, once dryly noting that to the men who ran the industry, “a movie about a woman’s cure for cancer is less interesting than a movie about a man with a hangnail.”
Celebrities have come forward with their memories and praise of Ephron, all reflecting on her talent and warm personality.
“Nora was an era,” Meg Ryan said. “We pictured ourselves inside her dreams and they became ours. All wisdom, wit and sparkle lights, what a treat she was, what a blessing. I marvel again and again, what a life… To have created simple happiness in people, to have added to the sum of delight in the world.”
Nora Ephron will be missed, and, like her movies, never forgotten.