Martha De Laurentiis death: Hannibal producer dies aged 67

Film and TV producer Martha De Laurentiis has died from brain cancer aged 67.

De Laurentiis was the wife of producer Dino De Laurentiis, who died in 2010. Her credits included Red Dragon, the Hannibal Lecter film starring Anthony Hopkins, as well as NBC series Hannibal.

Her daughter, who she shared with Dino, said in a statement: “My mother was both a warm, generous, optimistic soul – my father always referred to her as his ‘sunshine’ – and a fierce protector.

“A treasured wife, mother and grandmother and a friend who touched so many, as well as a nurturer – and protector – of creative people on the movies and television she loved,” the statement continued.

De Laurentiis worked as a model before moving into film production, starting out on films including The Warriors.

She started her professional partnership with Dino on Stephen King adaptation Firestarter, which was released in 1984.

Together, they built Screen Gems Studios in North Carolina, with De Laurentiis taking over production duties on De Laurentiis Entertainment Group films, which included Maximum Overdrive and Raw Deal.

They launched the De Laurentiis Co in the 1990s, producing films including Breakdown and U-571.

After Dino’s death, De Laurentiis became the company’s head and produced Mads Mikkelsen film Arctic as well as the forthcoming remake of Firestarter.

De Laurentiis is survived by her two daughters, Carolyna and Dina, and Dr Randy Sherman, her partner of 10 years.

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