American writer and screenwriter Joan Didion died at 87

The writer, a mythical figure of the 60s, who died this Thursday, delved into contemporary American culture.

Writer Joan Didion, an icon of American literature who is credited with introducing the “new journalism” with her essays on life in Los Angeles during the tumultuous 1960s, died Thursday, according to The New York Times.

Didion, known for her penetrating ideas and understated glamor, died at the age of 87 at her home in Manhattan from Parkinson’s disease, the newspaper reported.

His early works included his collection of seminal essays from 1968 Slouching Towards Bethlehem, which delighted critics and made her a real star, as well as The White Album, another collection of essays focused on Los Angeles, and Play It as It Lays, a novel about the lives of Hollywood personalities.

Decades after its heyday as socialite A film mecca, screenwriter, essayist and novelist, Didion found himself back in the spotlight for his wildly honest writing about grief after a heartbreaking double tragedy.

She was 69 when her husband and fellow writer John Gregory Dunne suffered a fatal heart attack. Less than two years later, the couple’s daughter, Quintana Roo, died at age 39 from acute pancreatitis.

Didion explored the impact of her devastating loss in her 2011 memoir Blue Nights.

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