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"I'll have what she's having."
Whether or not you're a fan of classic '90s rom-coms, chances are you have quoted this line before. The classic When Harry Met Sally one-liner — delivered in perfect deadpan by Estelle Reiner — is classic Nora Ephron: sharp, pithy, and just the right amount of sweet.
May 19 would have been Ephron's 75th birthday. Born in New York City in 1941, she was described by some as "Dorothy Parker, only smarter and funnier."
Throughout her prolific career, she wore many hats: journalist, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, producer and essayist. She gave us such gems as You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Julie & Julia, and When Harry Met Sally, and managed to convince an entire generation that Tom Hanks could be a credible hot-dad love interest.
But mostly, she provided us with a vocabulary to describe feelings in a way that is neither too corny, too mushy, or too feeling-y. It's just right.
Ephron died of pneumonia, a complication brought on by acute myeloid leukemia, on June 26, 2012. But as long as her words are still with us, she'll never truly be gone.
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