Jill Messick

Jill Messick, Rose McGowan’s former manager, died by suicide in Los Angeles on Wednesday. She was 50. Messick was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had been battling depression in the years before her death, her family told The Hollywood Reporter. Messick’s family criticized McGowan and Harvey Weinstein for involving Messick in the controversy over McGowan’s allegations that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 1997. Messick’s family says she was devastated after the movie mogul’s lawyer released an email in which Messick defended Weinstein. In October, the New York Times reported that McGowan was part of a settlement with Weinstein in 1997 following the alleged encounter. Messick’s family says the deal was negotiated without the manager’s knowledge. Messick, who worked as an exec at Miramax and at the Paramount-based Lorne Michaels Productions. At Miramax, where she was a production executive from 1997-2003, Messick served as co-executive producer on 1999 comedy She's All That and was part of the team that worked on the 2002 Oscar-winning film Frida. She also served as an executive producer on Warner Bros.' upcoming Minecraft video game adaptation with Roy Lee. Messick was born on July 27, 1967. She attended Santa Barbara High School and later the University of Southern California, graduating with a degree in communications. She is survived by two children, Jackson and Ava; their father, Kevin Messick; her father, Michael; her brother, Jan; and her partner, Dan Schuck.