Michael Apted, ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ Director, Dead at 79

Michael Apted, the celebrated British director behind films like the Seven Up documentaries, The World Is Not Enough, and Coal Miner’s Daughter, has died at 79, Variety reports. Apted’s agency Gersh confirmed the news today, and a cause of death has not yet been announced.

Apted, who made his directorial debut with 1972’s The Triple Echo, went on to create films like Continental Divide, Class Action, Thunderheart,  Extreme Measures, Enigma, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and more. Over the course of his career, he directed three actors who subsequently earned Academy Awards for their work, including Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter, Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist, and Jodie Foster as the titular role in Nell.

His Seven Up series, which began in 1964, featured young British citizens from young to old age as Apted checked in with them every seven years. The Up series spawned nine documentaries, concluding with 2019’s 63 Up. Apted created music documentaries, focusing on subjects like The Rolling Stones and David Bowie. The accomplished director won the Career Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association in 1999, and went on to serve three terms as Directors Guild of America president from 2003 to 2009. He later earned the Robert B. Aldrich Award in 2013 as well as the Honorary Life Member honor.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of esteemed director, longtime DGA leader and my friend Michael Apted. His legacy will be forever woven into the fabric of cinema and our Guild,” said Directors Guild of America President Thomas Schlamme, per IndieWire. “A fearless visionary as a director and unparalleled Guild leader, Michael saw the trajectory of things when others didn’t, and we were all the beneficiaries of his wisdom and lifelong dedication.”

Apted is survived by his wife Paige Simpson, and his three children from previous marriages.