Emmy-winning director Eleanor Coppola (87) dies: Reflecting on her career
Eleanor Coppola, the well-known matriarch of the celebrated Coppola dynasty of Hollywood, is no more. She was 87. She passed away at her residence in Rutherford, California on Friday, as confirmed by her family to the Associated Press. No cause of death was shared. Coppola is survived by her husband, the five-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, their daughter Sofia Coppola—director, producer, and Oscar-winning screenwriter—and their son Roman Coppola, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. May she rest in peace.
Coppola's early life and family
Born in Orange County, California, Coppola moved to Los Angeles for her studies at the University of California. There, she met Francis Ford while he was working on his first directorial project. They married in Las Vegas in February 1963 after a brief courtship and pregnancy. Their children Gian-Carlo, Roman, and Sofia all began their careers acting in their father's films before branching out into their own filmmaking endeavors. Her last Instagram post was a week ago.
Coppola's acclaimed documentation of her husband's film
During the making of Apocalypse Now (1979), Coppola frequently accompanied Francis on location, capturing footage with a 16mm camera. The shoot lasted 238 days and was marked by numerous difficulties—including a typhoon, and Martin Sheen's heart attack. Amid these obstacles, the original $13 M budget ballooned, pushing Francis to ultimately mortgage the family home and teeter on the brink of bankruptcy. This material would later be featured in the Emmy-winning documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991).
'A Filmmaker's Apocalypse' earned Coppola an Emmy
A Filmmaker's Apocalypse premiered on Showtime in 1991, earning Coppola an Emmy. Coppola revealed in a 2016 interview, "[Francis] wasn't happy because he felt like it made him look too out of control. But my reaction is it shows the creative process and the depth of anguish that it can be. I think now he's gotten over it." During production, she meticulously kept a journal, which later evolved into the 1979 book Notes: On the Making of Apocalypse Now.
Coppola's late career and final project
With Paris Can Wait (2016), Coppola became the second-oldest person to direct a debut narrative feature. She drew inspiration from her experiences, remarking, "It was terrifying...but part of the challenge was cutting through all of your fears and just going for it." In 2020, she co-wrote and directed Love Is Love. The family revealed that just before her death, Coppola had completed writing her third memoir in which she expressed appreciation for the extraordinary directions life had taken her.
Coppola's children continue her cinematic legacy
Coppola and Francis's children have made significant contributions to the film industry. Their first child, Gian-Carlo, appeared in his father's films before tragically dying in a boating accident at the young age of 22. Roman, their second child, has directed several films and currently heads his father's San Francisco-based film company, American Zoetrope. Their youngest child, Sofia, has become one of her generation's most acclaimed filmmakers with works like Lost In Translation and the recently released Priscilla.
