Oscar award-winning director Sebastián Lelio found dead aged 52 by partner
Oscar award-winning director Sebastián Lelio found dead aged 52 by partner
Niti MajethiaSat, November 7, 2026 at 4:38 PM UTC
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The late filmmaker was born in Argentina -Credit:AFP via Getty Images (AFP via Getty Images)
Sebastián Lelio, the Oscar-winning filmmaker who directed “A Fantastic Woman,” has passed away at 52 due to “health complications.”
The director died at his home in Santiago, Chile, midday on Friday, November 6. He was discovered by his partner, actress Amalia Kassai, who reached out to the cops as soon as she found him, per local outlet Emol. His exact cause of death has not been revealed, and it's unclear whether the Oscar-winner was battling health issues before passing.
“With great sadness, we announce the death, following health complications, of Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio,” his family announced in a statement. “We are going through a time of profound grief, and his memory will remain with us forever. He was a wonderful person who made significant contributions to Chilean culture at important moments in its history. As a family, we ask for privacy and consideration during these difficult times.”
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Kassai penned a heartbreaking tribute for her late partner. “I love you in this life and in all the lives to come,” she wrote in the caption of a post sharing photos of the couple. “He illuminated everything and everything around him … Only love remains.”
The acclaimed director was in the process of filming an adaptation of Alejandro Zambra’s novel “Chilean Poet” and was in the midst of making the highly anticipated movie “Voyagers” starring Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
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Lelio became one of the most prominent filmmakers in modern Latin American and international cinema. His career includes acclaimed Spanish-language dramas and Hollywood features.
The director died at his home in Santiago, Chile, midday Friday -Credit:AFP via Getty Images
He initially rose to fame and garnered international acclaim with Gloria (2013), a film centered on a woman in her late fifties navigating the dating scene, which won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival.
But it was his 2017 film A Fantastic Woman that made history by snagging the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, making it the first Chilean feature-length film to win an Oscar. The acclaimed film starred transgender actress Daniela Vega.
Lelio then went on to direct English-language films including the queer romance Disobedience (2017) starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, Gloria Bell (2018) starring Julianne Moore, and the Netflix psychological drama The Wonder (2022) starring Florence Pugh.
His last film was The Wave in 2025 -Credit:AP Photo/Joel C Ryan
The late filmmaker was born in Argentina, before his family moved to Chile when he was two years old. His last film was The Wave in 2025, a musical protest drama that premiered at Cannes.
He previously told The Guardian, “I love working with actors, and they trust me and can explore, get lost, be foolish or brave, and I’ll take care of them. I love working on set – it is where the sparkle is.”
"Making a film is like a gift you leave somewhere – you then hide and see what happens,” Lelio said.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
