‘Humpday’ director Lynn Shelton dies at 54

Lynn Shelton was an independent film director whose credits included "Humpday" and "Your Sister's Sister."

Lynn Shelton was an independent film director whose credits included "Humpday" and "Your Sister's Sister."

Lynn Shelton, an influential independent director whose works included “Humpday,” “Your Sister’s Sister” and “My Effortless Brilliance,” died Friday. She was 54.

The cause of death was a previously unidentified blood disorder, spokesperson Adam Kersh told The New York Times.

Shelton, who was prominent in the culture and arts scene in Seattle, also directed television and worked on series including “Mad Men,” “Little Fires Everywhere,” “Glow” and “The Morning Show.”

Shelton began making films in her mid-30s, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She directed eight films over the past 14 years, including the 2006 movie, "We Go Way Back," which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival, the website reported. She followed it up with "My Effortless Brilliance" in 2008, which won the Independent Spirit "Someone to Watch" award.

"Humpday," in 2009, starred Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore and Mark Duplass and won the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award in 2010, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Your Sister's Sister," a comedy, premiered in 2011.

Shelton was born Aug. 27, 1965, in Oberlin, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, the Times reported. She attended Oberlin College before returning to the Seattle area to attend the University of Washington School of Drama. She then moved to New York City, where she studied photography at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, the newspaper reported.

Shelton is survived by her son, Milo Seal; her ex-husband, Kevin Seal; and her parents, Wendy and Alan Roedell and David "Mac" Shelton and Frauke Rynd, the Times reported.

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