Nora Ephron, the essayist, author and filmmaker who challenged and thrived in the male-dominated worlds of movies and
journalism, and was loved, respected and feared for her wit, died on Tuesday of leukemia. She was 71.

Her book publisher Alfred A. Knopf confirmed her death in a statement.

Born into a family of screenwriters, Ephron was a top journalist in her 20s and 30s, then a bestselling author and successful
director.

She was among the most quotable and influential writers of her generation.

She wrote and directed such favourites as ``Julie & Julia'' and ``Sleepless in Seattle,'' and her books included the novel ``Heartburn,'' a brutal roman a clef about her marriage to Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein.

Ephron was married three times: to Dan Greenburg, Bernstein and Nicholas Pileggi, who survives her.

She had two sons.