Julie & Julia author Julie Powell, 49, has died

Julie Powell, the food writer best known for her hit memoir Julie & Julia, has died. She was 49 years old.

Powell's publicist, Judy Clain, confirmed the news in a statement to NBC News.

"Julie & Julia became an instant classic, and it is with gratitude for her unique voice that we will now remember Julie's dazzling brilliance and originality. We mourn her loss with her husband, Eric and her family," Clain wrote.

She added, "We are sending our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Julie, whether personally or through the deep connections she forged with readers of her memoirs. She was a brilliant writer and a daring, original person, and she will not be forgotten."

Her husband, Eric Powell, confirmed to The New York Times that Julie's cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Powell's Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously was released in 2005. It chronicled a yearlong journey in which she cooked all 524 recipes in Julia Child's classic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

The book was adapted into the popular 2009 movie Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep as Child and Amy Adams as Powell. Directed by Nora Ephron, the film weaves Powell's cooking journey with Child's as they get their start in the culinary world.