Joan Didion Passes at 87 Years Old, Look Back on Her Best Quotes
Knowing how it felt to feel nothing, Didion kept on playing.
Joan Didion—legendary novelist, screenwriter, and journalist—passed away on December 23, 2021, per her publisher, Penguin Random House/Knopf. The writer's death was caused by complications from Parkinson's Disease.
“We are deeply saddened to report that Joan Didion died earlier this morning at her home in New York due to complications from Parkinson’s disease,” Penguin Random House/Knopf said in a public statement.
She is preceded by her daughter, Quintana Roo, and husband, John Gregory Dunne. Their passing is documented in her book The Year of Magical Thinking, which won the 2005 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
A prolific writer, Didion first came to the public eye through her subversive take on 1960s culture and unraveling general cultural tapestry. Her essays within White Album and Slouching Towards Bethlehem chronicled counterculture and social discourse through the personalized eye of Didion.
In 2012, Didion was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. "I’m surprised she hasn’t already gotten this award," Obama said.
Didion's master of terse prose extended America's influence on modern literature, creating a dense and empathetic catalog that has forever changed our lives.
As a team of mourning journalists, L'OFFICIEL is honored to have her immortal words to cling to.