On this date in 1941, Nora Ephron was born in New York City, the eldest of four daughters of Phoebe (Wolkind) and Henry Ephron, Jewish screenwriters. She was named Nora after the protagonist in Henrik Ibsen‘s play “A Doll’s House” and grew up in Beverly Hills, Calif. She attended Wellesley College and graduated in 1962.
Shortly after graduation, she began writing for the New York Post and worked for that publication for five years. She went on to write a column for Esquire on women’s issues. Her first film, “Silkwood” (1983), which she co-wrote, starred Meryl Streep as a labor activist and nuclear whistle blower.
Ephron wrote, produced or directed over 15 movies, including “When Harry Met Sally” (1989), “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993), “You’ve Got Mail” (1998) and “Julie and Julia” (1998). Discussing with interviewer Linda Wertheimer the love of butter that Ephron’s mother and chef Julia Child shared, Ephron said a cook “can never have too much butter. That is my belief. And I stuck it into the movie. If I have a religion, that’s it.” (NPR, Aug. 7, 2009)
Kristin Marguerite Doidge in Nora Ephron: A Biography (2022) quoted longtime friend Dianne Dreyer: “I know she didn’t believe in an afterlife, and I know she wasn’t a religious person, but she certainly believed in magic. She certainly believed that one of the greatest pleasures you can have in life is doing something special for someone else.”
She was particularly adept at writing for the romantic comedy genre, but it was rom-com with a feminist bent. She received numerous awards, including a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay for “When Harry Met Sally” in 1989 and was nominated for many others, including several Oscars and Golden Globes.
Ephron was also the author of several humorous books, novels and collections of essays, including Heartburn (1996), Wallflower at the Orgy (2007), I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman (2008), and I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections (2011). Her plays include “Lucky Guy,” which premiered posthumously on Broadway in March 2013 starring Tom Hanks. Ephron had spent years researching Mike McAlary, the real journalist the play is based on.
Ephron was known for her sense of humor, quick wit and enjoyment of cooking. She was an accomplished chef. She worked closely with her sister, Delia Ephron, on much of her work. Ephron had a famous, short-lived marriage with Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein (inspiring her novel Heartburn). She had two sons, Max and Jacob, with Bernstein. She was married to her third husband Nicholas Pileggi, for over 20 years and was with him until she died at age 71 of acute myeloid leukemia. (D. 2012)
PHOTO: Ephron at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival; David Shankbone photo.
