Oscar-Winning Director Anthony Minghella Dies

Posted Tuesday March 18, 2008 11:45 AM EDT

British filmmaker Anthony Minghella, who won a Best Director Oscar in 1996 for The English Patient, has died, his London-based agent confirmed to the Associated Press. He was 54.

He succumbed to a fatal hemorrhage early Tuesday morning at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, west London, his rep tells . Minghella had an operation last week for a growth in his neck, which "seemed to have gone well."

Minghella's other movies included 1999's The Talented Mr. Ripley, which made a star out of Jude Law, and 2003's Cold Mountain, which won an Oscar for its Supporting Actress Renée Zellweger.

His most recent movie was The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which he recently finished filming in Botswana, reports CNN.

Minghella was married to Hong Kong-born choreographer Carolyn Choa.

Since 2003, he was chairman of the British Film Institute.