The Oscar Winner Behind ‘A Fantastic Woman’ Is Gone at 52
Sebastián Lelio, the Chilean filmmaker whose A Fantastic Woman made history for Chile at the Oscars, has died at 52.
Lelio died Friday at his home in Las Condes, Santiago, his partner, actress Amalia Kassai, announced on Instagram, saying his death followed health complications. No specific cause has been reported.
A Fantastic Woman (2017), starring Daniela Vega, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018 — the first Chilean film ever to win the Oscar. The film also took the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Lelio’s other films included Gloria (2013), Disobedience (2017), Gloria Bell (2018) starring Julianne Moore, The Wonder (2022) starring Florence Pugh, and The Wave (2025), which premiered at Cannes.
He had begun filming Chilean Poet (Poeta Chileno), an adaptation of Alejandro Zambra’s novel, in September. The future of that project is now uncertain.
Born March 8, 1974, in Mendoza, Argentina, Lelio moved to Chile at age 2 and became one of the country’s most celebrated directors.
Sebastián Lelio at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
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