Industry veteran Deirdre “Didi” O’Hearn, most recently head of programming and development at Food Network and Cooking Channel, died Monday after a long battle with lung cancer, her husband Richard Eckerstrom confirmed to Deadline. O’Hearn had recently been admitted to a hospice in Florida and died this morning surrounded by her husband, two sons and two of her brothers. She was 63 years old.

During her tenure at Food Network and Cooking Channel, she was responsible for existing daytime and primetime programming as well as developing new shows for both networks.

O’Hearn joined Food Network and Cooking Channel from WE tv, where she served as Vice President of Development and Talent, responsible for developing brand-defining original series and specials and was instrumental in the development of a number of popular WE tv series, including Mary Mary, Kendra at the top And LA HairPrior to joining WE tv, O’Hearn served as vice president of the New York office of nonfiction media producer Darlow Smithson Productions.

Earlier in her career, O’Hearn spent 16 years at A&E Television Networks. As Vice President of Non-Fiction and Alternative Programming, she developed and launched the successful reality series Family Jewels by Gene SimmonsShe was also program director for the Biography Channel and executive producer of the Emmy-winning biography series. Before joining the A&E Biography Channel, O’Hearn was a program producer for A&E Network and History, where she wrote and produced biographies on F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, Senator John McCain and Eva Peron.

O’Hearn has been nominated for six Emmy Awards, including five for Outstanding Nonfiction Series for A&E Networks’ Biography. She was a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT).

She leaves behind her husband, two children and four brothers.

Donations in O’Hearn’s honor may be made to the NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center.

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