By Status Ain't Hood Staff
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September 23, 2025
Diane Martel, the innovative and trailblazing music video director behind some of the most iconic visuals in pop and hip-hop, died Thursday, September 18, in New York after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 63. Martel passed away peacefully at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital surrounded by friends and family, her relatives told Rolling Stone. She is survived by her aunt, Gail Merrifield Papp, wife of Public Theatre founder Joseph Papp, along with her three cats, Poki, PopPop, and PomPom, and many lifelong friends. Born and raised in New York, Martel first gained recognition in 1992 with her directorial debut for Onyx’s “Throw Ya Gunz.” She went on to shape hip-hop’s visual identity throughout the decade with videos like Method Man’s “Bring the Pain” and Gang Starr’s “Mass Appeal.” She also forged a long-running creative partnership with Mariah Carey, helming “Dreamlover,” “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and “Whenever You Call.” By the 2000s, Martel was working with some of the world’s biggest stars, from Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears to Franz Ferdinand, Clipse, and The Killers. In the 2010s, Martel continued to cement her legacy, directing Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had” and Alicia Keys’ “Brand New Me” before making global headlines in 2013 with two of the most provocative videos of the decade: Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop.” Despite the controversies, Martel embraced her reputation for boldness, once telling Rolling Stone, “I like being provocative. That’s punk, that’s rock & roll, that’s hip-hop.” Remembered by collaborators like Pharrell Williams for her youthful creativity and fearless vision, Martel leaves behind a body of work that helped define the look and feel of modern pop culture.