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\n\tDiane Martel, the innovative and trailblazing music video director who helmed visuals for some of the biggest artists of the past three decades, including Beyonc\u00e9, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, the Killers, and Miley Cyrus<\/a>, and many more \u2014 died on Thursday in New York. She was 63.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDiane passed away peacefully at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital\u00a0 \u2013 surrounded by friends and family \u2013 after a long battle with breast cancer,\u201d her family said in a statement. \u201cShe is survived by her Aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp (wife of Joseph Papp, founder of The Public Theatre), her three beloved, loyal cats (Poki, PopPop, PomPom) and many loving lifetime friends.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA born-and-raised New Yorker who came of age in the city\u2019s downtown scene, Martel developed a knack for crafting music videos that were visually striking and filled with thrilling provocations. In 2013, she helmed two of the most discussed and controversial music videos of the past few decades: Cyrus\u2019 \u201cWe Can\u2019t Stop\u201d<\/a> and Robin Thicke<\/a>\u2019s \u201cBlurred Lines\u201d with Pharrell and T.I.<\/p>\n \n\tDespite the uproar both videos garnered, Martel never blinked. \u201cMy shit is on point right now,\u201d she boasted to Rolling Stone <\/em>that year, adding: \u201cI do have to admit I like being provocative. That\u2019s punk, that\u2019s rock & roll, that\u2019s hip-hop. It\u2019s passionate. We\u2019re not doing pharmaceutical ads.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tPharrell \u2014 who\u2019d worked with Martel before \u2014 added, \u201cDiane is like a 17-year-old girl who never grows up. Her creativity continues to evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMartel was a high school dropout who began her career making performance and street art during the late Eighties and early Nineties. She also worked as a dancer and choreographer, and one of her first big film projects was Reckin\u2019 Shop: Live From Brooklyn<\/em>, a documentary about hip-hop dancers that aired on PBS in 1992. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThat same year, Martel directed her first music video, \u201cThrow Ya Gunz,\u201d for the hardcore hip-hop crew Onyx. She\u2019d work with many other NYC rap luminaries in subsequent years, including Method Man, Gang Starr, Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard, LL Cool J, and Keith Murray. She also developed a close collaboration with Carey, directing numerous videos for her over the years, including \u201cDreamlover,\u201d \u201cAll I Want for Christmas Is You,\u201d and \u201cMy All.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n