Screenwriter and director Nora Ephron has died, according to a report from the Washington Post . The news first arrived earlier this evening by way of a eulogy from close friend Liz Smith on wowOwow. “I won’t say, ‘Rest in peace, Nora’ — I will just ask ‘What the hell will we do without you?'” the columnist wrote. According to several reports, the 71-year-old Silkwood and When Harry Met Sally… writer had been “gravely ill” for some time. The Washington Post confirmed “[Ephron] died of complications from the blood disorder myelodysplasia, with which she was diagnosed six years ago.”
Although for many Ephron was most associated with her 1990’s romantic comedies, the New York playwright and humorist’s 2009 film starring Meryl Streep as famed chef Julia Child in Julie & Julia, and her 2010 book I Remember Nothing gave her a late-career resurgence. Ephron was a beloved, prolific talent and leaves behind husband and fellow screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas, Casino) and two sons.