Salma Hayek Pays Tribute to Deceased ‘Frida’ Producer Jill Messick

Salma Hayek took to her Instagram on Friday to pay tribute to Jill Messick, the film producer who died by suicide on Thursday.

One of the films Messick worked on as an executive producer was the 2002 Miramax film.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Jill Messick,” Hayek said. “Jill was Frida’s executive at Miramax. She always navigated the frustrating and hostile environment of Miramax with grace and elegance. She became my ally and my friend. In the many years we worked together I witnessed her professionalism wile being pregnant, a mother and through incredible pressure. She was a girl’s girl and a romantic when it came to fighting for the underdog. I will forever be grateful for her support and kindness. My heart is with her husband Kevin, her precious children Jackson and Ava and her friends and family, that like me cherish her memory.”

Messick’s death was confirmed by her family as a suicide on Thursday. She was 50 years-old at the time and was the manager of actress Rose McGowan in January 1997, the same window of time where she claimed she was raped by Harvey Weinstein and the Sundance Film Festival. Her producer credits include She’s All That, Frida, Mean Girls, Hot Rod, Baby Mama, and Masterminds, along with the 2014-15 television series Bad Judge.

Messick’s family released a statement following her death, blasting both McGowan and Weinstein for involving her in the sexual assault allegations. She was diagnosed as bi-polar and had been reportedly battling depression for years.

“Jill was victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact,” the statement read. “The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge. She became collateral damage in an already horrific story.

“Seeing her name in headlines again and again … was devastating for her. It broke Jill, who was just starting to get her life back on track,” her family wrote. “What makes Rose’s inaccurate accusations and insinuations against Jill ironic was that she was the first person who stood up on Rose’s behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered.”

As of this writing, McGowan has not commented on the subject of Messick’s suicide on her social media profiles.