Barbara Ling, the production designer known for her work on Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and Michael, died Thursday at age 73. She passed away in Santa Barbara following a cancer diagnosis.
A WME spokesperson confirmed the news to Deadline. Ling’s family described her as equally gifted at period authenticity, contemporary realism, and stylized fantasy, noting that she leaves behind a legacy that profoundly influenced production design and modern filmmaking.
Born in August 1952, Ling started in theater before entering film with True Stories in 1986. She designed sets for films including Less Than Zero, The Doors, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, and A Man Called Otto.
Ling won the Academy Award for Best Production Design for Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood in 2019, sharing the honor with set decorator Nancy Haigh. Her most recent project was the Antoine Fuqua-directed Michael Jackson biopic Michael, released in April and grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide.
She is survived by her wife Lindsay and their sons Clay and Will. The Hollywood Reporter first reported her death.
