Celebrate the Late Nora Ephron’s Birthday with 5 of Her Iconic Romantic Comedies

Filmmaker and author Nora Ephron passed away in 2012, but her legacy lives on through the legendary romantic comedies that she left behind. Paving the way as a female screenwriter (and earning three Oscar nominations on her path), Ephron was known for her strong female characters and epic love stories that inspired generations.

From the dramatic 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle, which sent countless love stories to the top of the Empire State Building (perhaps most famously on The Mindy Project’s Season 2 homage to the romantic comedy), to 1998’s You’ve Got Mail, which portrayed an online romance way ahead of its time, Ephron’s films are just as relevant today as when she penned the scripts.

Nora Efron

In honor of the late director’s birthday, take a look back at the five iconic films we have thanks to her writing genius.

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When Harry Met Sally

Ronald Grant Archive / Mary Evan

Ephron wrote this 1989 film, which chronicles the crossing paths of two friends (played by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) who deny the obvious sparks between them.

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Sleepless in Seattle

Alamy Stock Photo

In this classic romantic comedy, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan play a couple whose cross-country love affair is one for the books.

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You've Got Mail

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Hanks and Ryan came together once again for another Ephron hit, this time playing two business rivals who unknowingly fall in love over the Internet.

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Bewitched

AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo

In this 2005 film that Ephron wrote and directed, Will Ferrell plays an actor who unknowingly gets a witch (Nicole Kidman) cast in a television remake of the classic sitcom Bewitched.

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Julie & Julia

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

This 2009 hit chronicles the adventures of a blogger (Amy Adams) as she works her way through the cookbook of Julia Child (Meryl Streep). Is it just us, or is it time for a movie night?

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