'Mad Men' director Lynn Shelton passes away at 54

Los Angeles: Writer-director Lynn Shelton, one of the leading voices of American independent film scene, has died at the age of 54.

The brain behind acclaimed indie projects Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister, Outside In, and Sword of Trust, passed away on Friday due to a previously unidentified blood disorder.

Shelton’s partner, actor Marc Maron confirmed her death in a statement to IndieWire. “I have some awful news. Lynn passed away last night. She collapsed yesterday morning after having been ill for a week…It was not COVID-19. The doctors could not save her. They tried. Hard, he said.

Maron, who worked with Shelton on Netflix’s GLOW, said he was “in complete shock”.

I loved her very much as I know many of you did as well. It’s devastating. I am leveled, heartbroken, and in complete shock and don’t really know how to move forward at this moment…She was a beautiful, kind, loving, charismatic artist. Her spirit was pure joy.

“She made me happy. I made her happy. We were happy. I made her laugh all the time. We laughed a lot. We were starting a life together. I really can’t believe what is happening. This is a horrendous, sad loss,” he said.

Shelton, a Seattle native started her career as an editor and later shifted to making short films. Her feature directorial debut was 2006’s We Go Way Back, but she emerged out in the indie scene with the 2009 movie Humpday, which won Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence at that year’s Sundance Film Festival.

In her career, Shelton wrote and directed eight feature films, including Your Sister’s Sister and 2019’s Sword of Trust, starring Maron. She reached a wider audience with her work on television, directing episodes of The Mindy Project, Mad Men, GLOW, and Fresh Off the Boat.

Recently, she directed four episodes of the Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

Shelton is survived by her son Milo Seal, her husband of eight years Kevin Seal, her parents Wendy and Alan Roedell, and David Mac Shelton and Frauke Rynd.

She is also survived by her brothers David Shelton, Robert Rynd, and sister Tanya Rynd.