Eleanor Coppola, wife of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, dies at 87

Emmy-winning director Eleanor Coppola has died at the age of 87.

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Coppola died Friday at her house in Rutherford, California, her family said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

She grew up in Orange County, California. According to the AP, she met her husband, Oscar-winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, while she was working as an assistant art director on his directional debut film called “Dementia 13.” After months of dating, Coppola was pregnant. The two got married in 1963 in Las Vegas.

The couple was married for 61 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Coppola gave birth to Gian-Carlo Coppola, the AP reported. He was a background actor in many of Francis Ford Coppola’s films and was killed in a boating accident in 1986 at the age of 22. The boat was piloted by Ryan O’Neal’s son, Griffin O’Neal, who was later found guilty of negligence related to the crash.

Eleanor Coppola won an Emmy Award for the 1991 documentary “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.” She directed “Paris Can Wait” and “Love Is Love,” according to Deadline. “Paris Can Wait” starred Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin and Arnaud Viard, according to Variety.

Coppola is survived by her husband, Francis Ford Coppola, 85; her daughter Sofia Coppola; and her son Roman Coppola. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sofia Coppola is am Oscar-winning screenwriter, director and producer. Roman Coppola is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter.

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