Hollywood writer Nora Ephron dies

26 June 2012 Last updated at 19:55 ET

Nora Ephron is known for her work as an author, screenwriter and director

Hollywood screenwriter and director Nora Ephron, who penned such films as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, is gravely ill.

Nicholas Latimer, a representative of her publisher, Alfred A Knopf, confirmed to the Associated Press that Ephron's condition was serious.

Rumours of her death from leukaemia circulated earlier after a celebrity friend published a memorial online.

Ephron, 71, is also a best-selling author of several books.

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker's friend, columnist Liz Smith, told US media that Ephron's son had informed her his mother was dying and that a funeral had been scheduled.

Ephron has been married three times, including once to Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post reporter who helped uncover the Watergate scandal.