Biography
The daughter of author/screenwriters Phoebe and
Henry Ephron, Nora Ephron was educated at Wellesley. She first made her mark as humorist, satirist, and dead-on parodist in book form (Crazy Salad) and in magazine articles. Ephron's first movie assignment was the Oscar-nominated screenplay for
Silkwood (1983). Her stormy marriage with Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein provided grist for her
roman a clef Heartburn, which she adapted into a highly praised 1986 film. After years of courting cynicism and waspishness in her work, Ephron turned romantic with her script for the extremely popular When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and has remained in this vein ever since. After a few so-so writing and producing assignments, she made her directing bow with
This Is My Life (1992), which she co-wrote with sister Delia Ephron. She then served as director and writer of
Sleepless in Seattle, a big-time hit of 1993. Five years later, she re-teamed with
Sleepless stars
Tom Hanks and
Meg Ryan for
You've Got Mail; another New York-based romantic comedy, it was one of the most successful films of 1998. The following year, Ephron and sister Delia collaborated on
Hanging Up, a comedy-drama based on a novel of Delia's. The story of three sisters who pull together to cope with the imminent death of their father (
Walter Matthau), it starred
Diane Keaton,
Meg Ryan, and
Lisa Kudrow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide