49. Nora Ephron

Sleepless in Seattle. When Harry Met Sally. Nora Ephron was the incredibly talented writer, journalist and filmmaker who wrote the screenplays for these classics of modern cinema, amongst many others.

Ephron grew up in Beverly Hills, the daughter of noted Jewish playwrights and screenwriters. After years struggling to get a writing job after leaving university, she eventually gained the attention of the New York Post’s editor and began working as a reporter there, which led to a regular column in Esquire as well. Here, she made a name for herself with her controversial subject matter and she gradually moved into writing for the screen. Her work on 1989’s When Harry Met Sally and1993’s Sleepless in Seattle established Nora as one of the most acclaimed screenwriters in Hollywood, and success with numerous projects followed in the subsequent decades. Tragically, she passed away at the age of just 71, in 2012, after undergoing a secret Leukaemia battle that she’d kept largely hidden for 6 years.Nora Ephron was not observant in a religious sense, but her Judaism was an inextricable part of her identity. After she died, friends spoke about her in various interviews and described her as ” very Jewish, culturally and emotionally. She identified fully as a Jewish woman.”