Best-Selling Oklahoma Author Billie Letts Dies

Billie Letts, an Oklahoma native and best-selling author, died Saturday morning at a Tulsa hospital, her public relations agent tells News On 6.

Saturday, August 2nd 2014, 9:49 pm

By: Dee Duren

Best-Selling Oklahoma Author Billie Letts Dies

Billie Letts, an Oklahoma native and best-selling author, has died, according to her publicist Arlene Johnson. She was 76.

"My long-time client and friend Billie Letts passed away this morning at St. Francis hospital. We are all devastated," Johnson said Saturday evening.

Letts was nationally known for her works including "Where The Heart Is," which was made into a movie staring Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd. She was also the mother of Pulitzer prize-winning Tulsa native Tracy Letts, author of "August: Osage County." That screenplay and film were based on his mother's dysfunctional family.

12/25/2013 Related Story: The Real Life Secrets Behind 'August: Osage County'

In addition to her writing career, Billie Letts was an educator who taught at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Letts' husband Dennis, who performed in the stage version of "August: Osage County," preceded her in death in 2008. She had two other children, musician and composer Shawn Letts and Dana Letts.