Nora Ephron Dead At 71

Nora Ephron Dead At 71
Nora Ephron Dead At 71

Legendary screenwriter Nora Ephron passes away at age 71 after her battle with a rare blood disease.

Nora Ephron died today in New York amongst friends and family. Nora was a pioneer for females in the entertainment industry; she was one of the first women screenwriters to make it big in Hollywood.

Nora, 71, wrote movies such as Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail and Julie & Julia. She also famously wrote a movie about her second husband, Carl Bernstein, and his infidelity to her. The movie was called Heartburn and starred Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. In 1987 she married Nicholas Pileggi, and stayed with him until her death.

Nora was a screenwriter, director, playwright, author and columnist and was nominated for three Oscars. Her illness was a surprise to the larger Hollywood community, although not to those closest to her. Our sources have confirmed that Nora has been “very ill for a long time with a rare blood disease.” They add that the disease is similar to Robin Roberts’ disease, MDS.

Her good friend writer Liz Smith published an obituary-type article about Nora, and word quickly spread of her illness on June 26. “I was confused because I was told to come to the funeral on Thursday,” Smith told the Associated Press. “It’s bad enough.” She wrote in her memorial: “[Nora] was the Untouchable, the Meryl Streep of our writing times, a peer to glance upwards at while you pretended to be her equal, a person you always wanted to be, to register with, to own as a sign that you, too, might be worthwhile.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with Nora’s family and friends. She is a huge loss to the Hollywood community and we are sorry for her passing.

Reporting by Bonnie Fuller

Get more from Hollywoodlife.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter