It’s been confirmed Big Little Lies and Dallas Buyers Club director Jean-Marc Vallée’s died of natural causes at the age of 58.
Vallée , with his family confirming in a statement this week that his death was due to ‘a fatal cardiac arrhythmia secondary to severe coronary atherosclerosis’ – which is when arteries become clogged with fatty substances called plaques, or atheroma.
The director’s sons Alex and Émile Vallée added: ‘Testimonials of friendship, esteem and respect for our father and for his work are still coming from around the world.
‘We are sincerely grateful and we hope that his creativity will continue to serve as inspiration and guidance to the people in this industry that he was so passionate about.’
Vallée’s family added in the statement, via , that they will announce details of commemorative events for the late filmmaker soon, who was at his cabin outside Quebec City in Canada when he died.
Shortly after his death, his producing partner, Nathan Ross, paid tribute to the star, describing him as a ‘true artist’.
He said in a statement: ‘Jean-Marc stood for creativity, authenticity and trying things differently. He was a true artist and a generous,
loving guy.
‘Everyone who worked with him couldn’t help but see the talent and vision he possessed. He was a friend, creative partner and an older brother to me. The maestro will sorely be missed but it comforts knowing his beautiful style and impactful work he shared with the world will live on.’
The Canadian writer, producer, editor and director’s breakthrough feature film was ‘C.R.A.Z.Y.’, which he wrote and directed and in 2014, he was nominated for the Best Editing Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.
Vallée’s 2009 feature The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt, was nominated for three Academy Awards.
The director also won two Emmy Awards for directing and producing HBO’s Big Little Lies starring Reese Witherspoon, with the series as a whole winning eight Emmys and four Golden Globes.
Following his death Big Little Lies stars Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern said their hearts were ‘broken’.
Paying her respects on Twitter, Reese wrote: ‘My heart is broken. My friend. I love you,’ while the actress also shared an image of the pair to her Instagram story with the same caption and a broken heart emoji.
On Instagram, Laura shared an image of the pair laughing, captioning it: ‘Beautiful Jean-Marc Vallee.
‘The world has lost one of our great and purest artists and dreamers. And we lost our beloved friend. Our hearts are broken.’
