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Academy Award-winning screenwriter Nora Ephron is reported to have passed away in a New York hospital at the age of 71.



Richard Cohen, a columnist for The Washington Post and friend of Ephron, reported her passing on Tuesday evening (June 26).

Ephron is thought to have died of complications resulting from the blood condition myelodysplasia. She was reported to have been seriously ill with leukaemia, which can be caused by conditions including myelodysplasia.

Nominated for an Oscar on three occasions, Ephron's best-known screenplays included When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. Her most recent movie was 2009's Julie & Julia, starring frequent collaborator Meryl Streep.

A director, writer and producer, Ephron was born in New York City on May 19, 1941, moving to Beverly Hills at the age of four.

Ephron worked as an intern for former US president John F Kennedy during the early 1960s, becoming a journalist for the New York Post soon after. One of her earliest scoops was the news of Bob Dylan's marriage to Sara Lownds.

She also became known for her satirical pieces, writing for publications including Esquire, Cosmopolitan and the New York Times Magazine.

Ephron was married firstly to Dan Greenburg and secondly to investigative journalist Carl Bernstein, who broke the Watergate scandal with Bob Woodward during the 1970s.

She is survived by her third husband Nicholas Pileggi, Jacob and Max, her two sons with Bernstein, and her sisters Delia and Amy.