Had she not died of leukemia last summer, Nora Ephron would have turned 72 today. The universally loved writer, director, producer and HuffPost contributing editor spent nearly 30 years in the thick of the movie industry, becoming synonymous with modern romantic comedy thanks to quirky and immensely successful movies like "When Harry Met Sally...," "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail."
Along the way, all disciples of the Ephron bible of love learned a thing or two about modern-day relationships, both romantic and platonic. Ephron advocates hang on to the many saccharine observations about life that poured out of the mouth of Meg Ryan -- who starred in four of the 13 movies Ephron directed -- or any of the other A-list players who frequented Ephron's filmography (Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Rita Wilson, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin).
Nearly a year after her passing, Hollywood and the literary community are still commemorating Ephron's life. A spate of tributes celebrating the "Julie & Julia" scribe's life have emerged from the likes of Lena Dunham, Tom Hanks, Mike Nichols and her own son Jacob Bernstein, who recounted her final hours in a touching New York Times Magazine piece.
But amid all the kind words and continued accolades (we haven't forgotten the three Oscar nominations she received for Best Original Screenplay), what's most remembered about Ephron are the lessons she bestowed upon us through her characters. With that, we celebrate her 72nd birthday with 10 messages we learned about love thanks to the one and only Nora Ephron.
