Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Big Little Lies director Jean-Marc Vallée’s cause of death revealed

TV and film director died on Christmas Day

Nicole Vassell
Thursday 14 April 2022 06:37 EDT
Comments
Jean-Marc Vallée discusses Dallas Buyers Club with Matthew McConaughey in 2013

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jean-Marc Vallée’s cause of death has been revealed in a statement from his family.

The Big Little Lies and Dallas Buyers Club director died suddenly on Christmas Day (25 December) in Quebec.

On Wednesday (13 April), Deadline reported that the death had been attributed to “a fatal cardiac arrhythmia secondary to severe coronary atherosclerosis” after a final coroner’s report.

This follows an initial report on 31 December which was unable to put Vallée’s death to an exact cause.

However, it was said at the time that the director had died of natural causes, with the statement reading: “Mr Vallée’s death was not caused by the intervention of another party, a voluntary act, or a known disease.”

Vallée’s sons, Alex and Émile, expressed their gratitude for the condolences they’ve received in the time since his death.

“Testimonials of friendship, esteem and respect for our father and for his work are still coming from around the world,” they said.

The filmmaker died suddenly in his cabin outside Quebec City, his representative said (Ian West/PA)
The filmmaker died suddenly in his cabin outside Quebec City, his representative said (Ian West/PA) (PA Archive)

The message continued: “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.”

At the time of the director’s death, many of his previous collaborators posted tributes and memorial messages online.

Reese Witherspoon, who worked with him on Big Little Lies, said that her heart was “broken” by his loss.

Matthew McConaughey, who won an Academy Award for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, remembered Vallée as someone with a “gentle hand and heart” who “didn’t romanticise life as much as he saw life romantic”.

He wrote: “From the struggle to the pain to the wink and the whisper, love stories were everywhere in his eyes.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in