Diane Martel, Trailblazing Music Video Director of 'We Can't Stop,' 'Blurred Lines,' Dead at 63
Diane Martel, the legendary music video director known for helming Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," has died at age 63
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Diane Martel, the innovative and trailblazing music video director who helmed visuals for some of the biggest artists of the past three decades, including Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, the Killers, and Miley Cyrus, and many more — died on Thursday in New York. She was 63.
“Diane passed away peacefully at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital – surrounded by friends and family – after a long battle with breast cancer,” her family said in a statement. “She is survived by her Aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp (wife of Joseph Papp, founder of The Public Theatre), her three beloved, loyal cats (Poki, PopPop, PomPom) and many loving lifetime friends.”
A born-and-raised New Yorker who came of age in the city’s downtown scene, Martel developed a knack for crafting music videos that were visually striking and filled with thrilling provocations. In 2013, she helmed two of the most discussed and controversial music videos of the past few decades: Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” with Pharrell and T.I.
Despite the uproar both videos garnered, Martel never blinked. “My shit is on point right now,” she boasted to Rolling Stone that year, adding: “I do have to admit I like being provocative. That’s punk, that’s rock & roll, that’s hip-hop. It’s passionate. We’re not doing pharmaceutical ads.”
Pharrell — who’d worked with Martel before — added, “Diane is like a 17-year-old girl who never grows up. Her creativity continues to evolve.”
Martel was a high school dropout who began her career making performance and street art during the late Eighties and early Nineties. She also worked as a dancer and choreographer, and one of her first big film projects was Reckin’ Shop: Live From Brooklyn, a documentary about hip-hop dancers that aired on PBS in 1992.
That same year, Martel directed her first music video, “Throw Ya Gunz,” for the hardcore hip-hop crew Onyx. She’d work with many other NYC rap luminaries in subsequent years, including Method Man, Gang Starr, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, LL Cool J, and Keith Murray. She also developed a close collaboration with Carey, directing numerous videos for her over the years, including “Dreamlover,” “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and “My All.”
