Rita Wilson/Instagram Rita Wilson paid tribute to the late filmmaker Nora Ephron on Instagram as she marked Ephron's May 19 birthday, nearly 13 years after Ephron died at 71 "I know you're always with me somehow. Your voice on audiobooks calms me and makes you feel close," Wilson wrote Wilson appeared in two of Ephron's movies in the 1990s, includingSleepless in Seattle, which Wilson's husband Tom Hanks starred in Rita Wilsonis keeping the lateNora Ephronclose to her heart nearly 13 years after the legendary filmmaker's death. On Wednesday, May 21, Wilson, 68, shared three throwback photos of her and Ephron, whodied at 71in June 2012, toInstagramin recognition of Ephron's birthday on Monday, May 19. Wilson included two photos of the women posing together — Wilson holds Ephron close in a hug against an ocean backdrop in one picture — and a third photo of the lateSleepless in Seattlewriter-director next to a table full of food. "Happy Birthday, Nora Ephron, wherever you may be. May 19. I know you're always with me somehow. Your voice on audiobooks calms me and makes you feel close. It's amazing how many things remain of what you taught and showed me," Wilson wrote in a caption to her post. She called Ephron "the first mentor I had" in the entertainment industry. "You believed in me. I still miss you. I wonder what you would make of the world today. When she walked me through writing my first piece forHarper's Bazaarshe said, 'I'm going to tell you what all journalists know - tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them.' " Per Wilson's caption, the third photo in her post "shows Nora after cooking one of her famously delicious meals." "She said you should always have five side dishes, never serve fish because it gets eaten too quickly, and always find something that can be store bought and reheated so you don't have to cook everything," Wilson wrote. "I love you." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock Ephron, the visionary writer and director behind movies likeWhen Harry Met Sally,You've Got MailandSleepless in Seattle, died of acute myeloid leukemia in June 2012. She and Wilson worked together twice in the 1990s; Wilson appeared in 1993'sSleepless in Seattle— which starred her husbandTom Hanks— and in 1994'sMixed Nuts. In November 2023, Wilson shared with PEOPLE that she always makes one of Ephron's signature dishes — "orange praline yams" — for Thanksgiving each year. "She saw in me that I was an actress who could do comedy. She saw in me that I could write," Wilson said of her friendship with Ephron at that time. "She came to my very first music performance ever and she said, 'You keep doing this.' And she wasn't like a saccharine sweet, like, 'Oh, you go, girl, honey.' She was like, 'No, you're doing this and you can do this.' " Read the original article onPeople
