Francis Ford Coppola's Wife, Filmmaker Eleanor Coppola, Dead at 87

Eleanor Coppola -- the filmmaker and wife of famed director Francis Ford Coppola -- has died ... according to a statement made by her family.

The matriarch of the famous film family passed away Friday at her home in Rutherford, CA ... a small town in Napa Valley. They did not give a cause of death.

Eleanor met Francis in 1962 while working as an assistant art director on his first movie, "Dementia 13" ... and the couple started dating.

Eleanor got pregnant shortly thereafter, married Coppola in Las Vegas and gave birth to their first son, Gian-Carlo.

The couple had two more children ... producer Roman Coppola and director Sofia Coppola -- setting up a true dynasty in filmmaking.

And, Eleanor stuck with filmmaking too ... shooting behind-the-scenes footage of many of her husband's projects -- including "Apocalypse Now" which she turned into the 1991 documentary "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse."

Eleanor later said she was just trying to keep herself busy while shooting the footage ... and, she happened to capture a truly disastrous production where lead actor Martin Sheen had a heart attack, and a construction crew member died.

Later in life, Eleanor got into narrative filmmaking ... directing "Paris Can Wait" in 2016 and "Love Is Love Is Love" in 2020.

She's survived by Francis, Roman, Sofia and her many grandchildren.

Eleanor was 87.