'The Hate U Give' Screenwriter Dies

Just one day before a film she wrote — this weekend's "The Hate U Give" — was released, screenwriter Audrey Wells has died.

People magazine reports Wells died after a long battle with cancer at 58.

In a statement released by her agents at UTA, her husband, Brian Wells, said, "Over the last five and a half years, Audrey fought valiantly against her illness and she died surrounded by love. Even during her fight, she never stopped living, working or traveling, and she never lost her joy, wonder and optimism. She was, simply, the most incredible wife and partner imaginable, and she knew always that she was loved by Tatiana, me and the friends who were her chosen family.”

He went on to recall, “She said just recently, 'We're so lucky, honey. We got to live a love story. Who gets to do that?' We will carry her forward with us forever — as a mother, as a wife, as an artist and creator, and as a friend. She was irreplaceable.”

Along with "The Hate U Give," Wells wrote such popular and familiar films as "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" (1996), "George of the Jungle" (1997), and "Shall We Dance" (2004). She wrote and directed "Guinevere" (1999) and "Under the Tuscan Sun" (2003).

She is survived by her husband and their daughter.