Deadline creator Nikki Finke dies at 68

Entertainment journalist Nikki Finke, who founded the go-to Hollywood website Deadline, died Sunday at age 68, according to the outlet.

The Hollywood writer started up the Deadline Hollywood Daily in 2006 and led the site to notoriety with her takes and scoops on Los Angeles stars and show business.

Finke worked for the Los Angeles Times, reported for Newsweek in Washington, D.C., and corresponded from Moscow and London for The Associated Press before she began working on her “Deadline Hollywood” print column for LA Weekly, according to Deadline.

Her column morphed into the website, which quickly gained traction as a key source of industry news and became distinctive because of Finke’s scathing tone and razor-sharp commentary.

“She posted firsthand accounts of how she saw the entertainment business and was unfazed about dressing down its biggest players. Her often biting, acerbic posts called out wrongdoing and wrongdoers as she saw fit — making her a hero to many assistants and below-the-liners while irking many in the C-suites who were not used to anything less than praise,” Deadline said.

Finke passed away in Boca Raton, Florida, after a prolonged illness, Deadline disclosed in its announcement.

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