Author and speaker Barbara Branden died in Los Angeles yesterday at the age of 84.
Branden was a writer, lecturer, and author of the best-selling biography The Passion of Ayn Rand (Doubleday, 1986). The book formed the basis for the Emmy-award winning 1999 movie of the same name, starring Helen Mirren as Ayn Rand.
An M.A. in philosophy (New York University), Branden was for eighteen years a close associate of Ayn Rand, the managing editor of The Objectivist Newsletter and The Objectivist, and executive vice-president of the Nathaniel Branden Institute in New York, where she wrote and lectured on the philosophy of Objectivism. Her "Principles of Efficient Thinking" lecture series is still distributed today.
Atlas Shrugged Producer John Aglialoro said, "Barbara was a brilliant mind and good friend. We are very proud to have had her involved in the development of the films. Her impact was significant and she will be sorely missed."
