During her time at Wellesley, Ephron wrote a series of letters to her parents, which they later used as the source material for their play, 'Take Her, She's Mine' (1961), a two-act comedy about a precocious and irrepressible young woman who leaves her overprotective father behind to attend college abroad. Intending to avoid following in her parents' footsteps, she chose instead to head East after graduating Beverly Hills High School to attend Wellesley College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1962. Despite the level of domestic comfort provided by her parents' success, Ephron and her three sisters, Amy, Delia and Hallie, grew up in a dysfunctional home dominated by alcoholism. Her parents were famous playwright and screenwriting partners known for their work on 'Carousel' (1959) and 'There's No Business Like Show Business' (1961), as well as their Oscar nomination for 'Captain Newman, M.D.' (1963). Ephron remained one of the most revered and respected writer-directors of her day, and fans and colleagues alike were devastated by her death on June 26, 2012.īorn on in New York, NY, Ephron was raised by her father, Henry, and mother, Phoebe. While continuing to write films like 'My Blue Heaven' (1990), she also began directing, starting with the beloved 'Sleepless in Seattle' (1993), leading to 'Mixed Nuts' (1994), 'Michael' (1996) and culminating in 'You've Got Mail' (1998) and 'Julie and Julia' (2009).

But it was her script for 'When Harry Met Sally ' (1989) that set the bar high for all other romantic comedies that would follow. After making major news for her divorce from acclaimed journalist Carl Bernstein, which became fodder for her novel, Heartburn, Ephron became an Oscar-nominated screenwriter with her very first effort, 'Silkwood' (1983).

Her first collection of essays, Wallflower at the Orgy (1970), was a bestseller, as were all of her subsequent books. Despite being raised by screenwriter parents, Ephron was driven as a young woman to become a journalist, first writing for the New York Post, which she followed by becoming a scathingly witty essayist for the likes of Esquire and New York magazine. Perhaps one of the most prolific writers to emerge during the latter half of the 20th century, Nora Ephron transitioned from successful journalist and novelist to write and direct what many consider to be among the greatest romantic comedies ever made.

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