Diane Martel, the fearless visible architect behind Blurred Lines and All I Want for Christmas Is You, died earlier this week at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York following a chronic combat with breast most cancers.

She was 63.

Her household confirmed her passing in a press release, saying she “passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family.” Martel is survived by her aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp, the widow of Public Theater founder Joseph Papp and three cats.

Martel’s profession spanned greater than 30 years, beginning within the early Nineteen Nineties when she emerged from New York’s underground Hip-Hop scene. Her directorial debut got here in 1992 with the gritty Throw Ya Gunz by Onyx, a video that set the tone for her uncooked, unfiltered aesthetic.

She rapidly grew to become a go-to director for Hip-Hop royalty, helming visuals for Method Man, LL Cool J, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, “Chief Rocka” by Lords of the Underground, Gang Starr, and Keith Murray.

Her catalog contains each chart-toppers and deep cuts, from Nicki Minaj‘s Pills N Potions to Insane Clown Posse‘s Another Love Song.

In a 2003 interview with Vibe, Martel made her stance on artistic integrity crystal clear:

“I’m concerned with how wack videos are right now. How fortunate are directors every time we’re given an opportunity to represent the culture? How dare we serve people weak s### when Hip-Hop was born of such strength.”

Her breakout second got here by means of her long-standing collaboration with Mariah Carey, directing eight of the singer’s movies, together with the enduring vacation juggernaut All I Want for Christmas Is You, which has racked up almost 900 million views on YouTube.

Martel’s attain prolonged far past Hip-Hop. She crafted iconic visuals for Christina Aguilera‘s Genie in a Bottle, Justin Timberlake‘s Like I Love You, Beyoncé‘s Best Thing I Never Had, and Alicia Keys‘ If I Ain’t Got You.

But it was in 2013 that Martel discovered herself on the middle of a cultural firestorm. She directed two of the 12 months’s most talked-about movies: Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines.

The latter drew intense criticism for its portrayal of ladies and sparked a broader dialog about consent in popular culture.

Years later, mannequin Emily Ratajkowski accused Thicke of groping her through the Blurred Lines shoot. Martel backed her up, telling The Times, “I screamed in my very aggressive Brooklyn voice, ‘What the f*** are you doing, that’s it! The shoot is over!

“Your endless history will remain recognized. Sleep Peacefully,” DJ Premier stated in a touching tribute, whereas EPMD’s Erick Sermon stated, “my girl. This hurts.”

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