Director Lynn Shelton, 54, died Friday in Los Angeles as the result of a previously unidentified blood disorder, according to her agent Adam Kersh.
Shelton, who directed hit shows such as “Little Fires Everywhere” and “Glow,” collapsed after a week of feeling ill, her collaborator and romantic partner Marc Maron said in a statement to Deadline Sunday.
“It’s devastating. I am leveled, heartbroken and in complete shock and don’t really know how to move forward in this moment,” Maron said.
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The 54-year-old director was born in Ohio in 1965 but spent much of childhood in Seattle. She studied at Oberlin and the University of Washington School of Drama before moving to New York for a masters in fine arts, according to Kersh.
Shelton made her first film, “We Go Way Back,” in 2006 after seeing French director Claire Denis speak at Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum. Her third film, “Humpday,” premiered at Cannes in 2009 where it won the film festival’s Grand Jury prize.
But Shelton also had a successful career in television, directing episodes for hit shows such as “New Girl,” “Fresh Off The Boat,” and “The Mindy Project.” Her most recent work, a miniseries based on the novel “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng, premiered in March.
“Little Fires Everywhere” producer and actress Reese Witherspoon mourned Shelton’s death in a touching post on Instagram Saturday, in which she called Shelton a “vibrant, talented, and soulful filmmaker.”
“Lynn also shared so much of her life with us,” Witherspoon wrote. “Her love of her son, how motherhood changed her life, her life changing decisions that made her the woman she was. I feel so fortunate that I got to collaborate with Lynn on both The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere.”
Other celebrities, such as Ava Duvernay, Kerry Washington, and Judd Apatow openly grieved Shelton’s death over social media, telling stories about her on set and their personal experiences with her.
Comedian Mindy Kaling wrote a tribute to Shelton on social media over the weekend, posting a photo of her and the director from the set of “The Mindy Project.”
“Her lovely, sunny energy was infectious and actors always drifted to video village between takes to be around her,” Kaling wrote. “She had such a quiet power and I will miss her.”
Shelton is survived by her son, Milo Seal.
