Melissa Mathison Dead At 65; Cause Of Death Determined!

Screenwriter Melissa Mathison has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 65 due to cancer, reports BBC.

Mathison, who was previously married to Harrison Ford, was an Oscar nominee for original screenplay for Steven Spielberg's hit movie "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial."

Melissa was also known for "The Black Stallion" and "Kundun" by Martin Scorsese. She suffered from neuroendocrine cancer, and died Wednesday.

Mathison was married to Harrison Ford from 1983 to 2004. The pair met on the set of "Apocalypse Now" and had two children, Malcom and Georgia, according to Variety.

"Melissa had a heart that shined with generosity and love and burned as bright as the heart she gave ET," said director Steven Spielberg in a statement.

Spielberg acknowledges Melissa Mathison for "E.T.'s" monumental success. Mathison was also an associate producer of the film.

"It was a script I was willing to shoot the next day. It was so honest, and Melissa's voice made a direct connection with my heart," says Steven on the film's special edition DVD, cites The Guardian.

Melissa was born in Los Angeles Calif. in 1950. Her father Richard Randolph Mathison was a journalist and her mother's name is Margaret Jean.

Spielberg and Mathison recently reunited for the big screen adaptation of Ronald Dahl's The "Big Friendly Giant," a beloved children's novel.

The film stars Mark Rylance and is in post-production. This project marked Mathison's first screenplay in nearly two decades.

Melissa became friends with the Dalai Lama while she wrote the script for "Kundun" in 1990.

The Dalai Lama was the subject of the film. From then on, Mathison became an activist for Tibetan Freedom and before she died, she served on the board of the International Campaign for Tibet, according to sources.

Melissa Mathison also wrote the script for "The Indian Cupboard" in 1995, which was a children's book adaptation by Frank Oz. She also worked on "The Escape Artist" and Steven Spielberg's "Kick The Can" segment on "Twilight Zone: The Movie" in 1983.