British director Antonia Bird dies at 54

British director Antonia Bird, known for films such as Face, Priest and Mad Love, has died. She was 54.

The BBC, citing Bird’s agent, said on Saturday the director had been suffering from anaplastic thyroid cancer and had died in her sleep.

Bird worked for several years at the Royal Court Theatre before switching to TV in the mid-1980s. She racked up a string of credits on shows such as Spooks and EastEnders.

Actor Robert Carlyle, who appeared in a number of Bird’s films, tweeted Saturday that it’s “such a sad day... farewell to my beautiful friend.”