Catherine Cyran has died at the age of 59, friends of the filmmaker have confirmed.
The Emmy-nominated filmmaker, producer and writer died on Christmas Eve in Vancouver. While no official cause of death has yet been revealed, she was known to have been battling cancer.
One of those close to her posted a tribute on Facebook sharing the news, which read: "Today we lost a beautiful soul, Catherine Cyran..This Christmas Eve You slipped through my fingers peacefully.
"My mentor & director who truly loved me…I never thought angels existed till now."
Catherine was born in Brooklyn and graduated from both Harvard and Stanford Business School. Over the course of her career, which spanned over three decades, she was the director of more than 20 feature films.
Her breakthrough production came in 1993 with White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II. The family adventure pic saw her nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Special.
She is also credited on Dangerous Waters, Sawbones and three of the four Prince & Me series rom-com instalments, as well as True Heart, which featured Kirsten Dunst.
Her last production landed on Hallmark in November and, sticking with her Christmas-based themes, was titled Our Italian Christmas Memories.
Following the news of her death spreading, many others took to social media to share tributes of their own. One Twitter user penned: "I’ve watched Christmas Do-Over 75 times in the last three years, and genuinely love it. The phrase “Catherine Cyran’s festive time loop dramedy” is one I’ve used MANY times.
"She also earned her spurs working with the legendary Roger Corman! Genuinely a bit crushed by this news…"
And another said: "Not sure many people know, but we lost the great soul @CatherineCyran on Christmas Eve. I not only considered her a mentor, but a friend. She truly was one of a kind. Rest in peace CC."
Catherine was a member of the Writers Guild of America and also penned a YA novel called Island of the Last Great Auk. The book was based on her award-winning screenplay titled The Last Story.
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