Nora Ephron

 Nora Ephron (May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012)

Ephron was a journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Writing: for Silkwood (1983), When Harry Met Sally... (1989), and Sleepless in Seattle (1993). In 1983, Ephron coscripted the film Silkwood with Alice Arlen. The film, directed by Mike Nichols, stars Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood, a whistleblower at the Kerr McGee Cimarron nuclear facility who dies under suspicious circumstances. She won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for When Harry Met Sally. Her first produced play, Imaginary Friends (2002), was honored as one of the 10 best plays of the 2002–03 New York theatre season. She also co-authored the Drama Desk Award–winning theatrical production Love, Loss, and What I Wore. In 2013, Ephron received a posthumous Tony Award nomination for Best Play for Lucky Guy. She also directed films, usually from her own screenplays, including You’ve Got Mail (1998), starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Ephron was married three times, and had two children.

In 2006, Ephron was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. She chose not to disclose her diagnosis to friends or colleagues, fearing that the knowledge that she was ill would have impeded her career, and would make it impossible to get projects financed or insured. On June 26, 2012, Ephron died in Manhattan from pneumonia, as a complication of leukemia, at the age of 71.