Iconic screenwriter and journalist Nora Ephron died yesterday aged 71.
Nora, who wrote When Harry met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, passed away after a battle with pneumonia, brought on by acute myeloid leukaemia.
She was born in New York in 1941, the daughter of a Broadway playwright and a Hollywood screenwriter.
Nora started working as a journalist, writing for the New York Post and the New York Times before penning a series of novels, which she adapted for successful film scripts.
Despite her many talents, romantic comedies were where Nora would find widespread fame.
She wrote several blockbusters including You’ve Got Mail and Silkwood.
She wrote and directed her last film Julie and Julia in 2009, which starred her good friend and long-time collaborator Meryl Streep.
Nora was married three times. Her first — to writer Dan Greenburg — ended in divorce after nine years.
She married legendary Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein in 1976 and had her first child, son Jacob, the following year. She was pregnant with her second son Max when she found out Bernstein was having an affair with a mutual friend in 1976, ending their relationship.
Nora’s third marriage was far more successful. She wed screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi in 1987 and was still happily married to him when she died.
Video: Nora Ephron’s last interview with Kerri-Anne Kennerley in 2011
