Melina Kanakaredes to Co-Write and Produce Pic About Death Studies Pioneer Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Rachel Montpelier
Women and Hollywood
2 min readMar 22, 2018
Kübler-Ross: The Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation’s Twitter account

Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the award-winning psychiatrist behind the seminal book “On Death and Dying” and coiner of the five stages of grief, is getting her own film. Deadline reports that actress/writer Melina Kanakaredes (“The Resident”) is co-writing and producing an indie feature about the near-death studies and palliative care trailblazer. The project is inspired by Kübler-Ross’ “The Wheel of Life: A Memoir Of Living and Dying.”

Born in Switzerland in 1926, Kübler-Ross revolutionized the way people think about bereavement and loss with the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Her books — which include “On Children & Death” and “The Tunnel and the Light,” alongside “On Death and Dying” — have been translated into 36 languages and sold more than 10 million copies around the world. Kübler-Ross died in 2004.

Kanakaredes acquired the rights to “The Wheel of Life” and Kübler-Ross’ life rights for the as-yet untitled film, Deadline details. The pic “will tell the true story of a woman’s fight to change the medical establishment’s treatment and care of dying patients. Her strength and courage as a women in the face of a male dominated profession led to the creation of Hospice here in America and across the globe.”

The film has the support of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Family Partnership.

No director has been announced yet, but Kanakaredes is penning the script with “Immortals” writers Vlas and Charley Parlapanides. She’s producing via her Melpa Productions banner. Das Films is producing as well.

Kanakaredes currently recurs in Fox medical drama “The Resident.” Her acting credits include “Extant,” “CSI: NY,” and “Leaving L.A.”

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