Catherine Cyran dies: Daytime Emmy-nominated filmmaker turns 59

Catherine Cyran, the Daytime Emmy-nominated director of more than 20 feature films, died on Christmas Eve, according to multiple Facebook posts from her loved ones. Although no cause of death has yet been reported, she was 59 years old.

“Today we lost a beautiful soul, Catherine Cyran… You slipped through my fingers peacefully this Christmas Eve,” wrote Gary B. on 12/24. “My mentor and director who really loved me… I never thought angels existed until now.”

Born in Brooklyn, Cyran is a graduate of Harvard and Stanford Business School and has worked frequently as a writer and producer throughout her more than 30-year career. Her introduction to the world of filmmaking came as a writer and producer on several of Roger Corman’s low-budget films – the first titles of which were A cry in the wilderness, Slumber Party Massacre III and Bloodfist II.

Cyran’s breakthrough as a director came in 1993 White Wolves: A Cry in the Wilderness II – a family adventure picture for which she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Direction in a Children’s Special. Additional director credits for the multiple streak included the visual for River Rafting Dangerous waters; the showtime horror The surgeon; the activist true heart with Kirsten Dunst; three of the four terms in the prince and me series of rom-coms; and the holiday comedy Christmas overdo with Jay Mohr to name a few. Cyran’s last film was one of several holiday-themed titles she made for television over the years – a rom-com titled Our Italian Christmas memorieswith three-time Emmy winner Beau Bridges bowing to Hallmark in November.

A member of the Writers Guild of America, as well as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Directors Guild of Canada, Cyran has also notably written a YA novel titled Island of the Last Great Alkbased on her own award-winning screenplay, The Last Story.

No memorial plans have been announced yet.