Melissa Mathison – the screenwriter best known for her work on such classic family films such as The Black Stallion, E.T., and The Indian in the Cupboard – has passed away at the age of 65.
According her family, Mathison had been battling neuroendocrine cancer.
E.T. director Steven Spielberg expressed his condolences in a statement reading, “Melissa had a heart that shined with generosity and love and burned as bright as the heart she gave E.T.”
As a screenwriter and consultant, Mathison had more than a dozen credits to her name, including The Escape Artist, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Son of the Morning Star, and the acclaimed Martin Scorsese-Brad Pitt collaboration, Kundun.
From 1983 to 2004, Mathison was married to actor Harrison Ford. The couple had two children together, Malcolm Carswell Ford, and Georgia Ford.
At the time of her death, Mathison was working with Spielberg once again, this time on an adaptation of the beloved Roald Dahl novel The BFG.
In addition to her work in Hollywood, Mathison was a member of the International Campaign for Tibet and had spent decades tirelessly campaigning to help the beleaguered region secure its independence from China.
In addition to her children, Mathison is survived by four siblings.