Screenwriter Audrey Wells Dies The Day Before Her Film Is Released

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Buena Vista, via Alamy

Audrey Wells directing “Under the Tuscan Sun” in 2003.

Raquel Perry, Reporter

Screenwriter Audrey Wells has sadly passed away a day before her new film The Hate U Give debuted in theaters. The writer lost her battle with cancer last Thursday on October 4th at the age of 58.

Wells had been battling with cancer for five years. “Over the last five and a half years, Audrey fought valiantly against her illness and she died surrounded by love,” her husband Brian Wells said in the statement. “Even during her fight, she never stopped living, working or traveling, and she never lost her joy, wonder, and optimism. She was, simply, the most incredible wife and partner imaginable, and she knew always that she was loved by Tatiana, me and the friends who were her chosen family.”

Audrey Wells was known for giving a voice to underrepresented women as she created strong female characters who were also complex. She died before her film That Hate U Give premiered in theaters. The Hate U Give is a movie adaptation the New York Times Bestseller book, written by Angie Thomas. The film tells the story of a black teenage girl who struggles after she witnesses her best friend being shot by a police officer. “It was a joy to work with Audrey, and I’m forever grateful for what she gave us with The Hate U Give. She will truly be missed,” Thomas wrote on Instagram.  ‬

Wells also wrote the scripts for George of the Jungle, Under the Tuscan Sun, Shall We Dance and The Kid.