Deirdre “Didi” O’Hearn, a former executive at A&E Television Networks, passed away on August 12 in hospice care in St. Augustine, Florida. She was 63 and succumbed to lung cancer.

O’Hearn, a seasoned cable executive who also held positions at WeTV and other channels, served as senior vice president of programming and development for the Food Network and Cooking Channel from 2014 to 2017. During her tenure, she oversaw existing programming and the development of new shows.

The exec was nominated for six Emmys throughout her career, and served as vice president of nonfiction and alternative programming at A&E Television Networks. There, she developed “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” a reality series which followed Simmons, his wife Shannon Tweed and their two kids.

O’Hearn was a long-time employee of the network, spending 16 years there. She held key positions such as executive producer and supervising producer for the series “Biography,” where she contributed to episodes that explored the lives of prominent figures like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, Val Kilmer, and many others. During her time at the network, she also served as director of programming for the Biography Channel and producer of programming for both A&E Network and History Channel.

She later took on the role of vice president of development and talent at WeTV, where she was instrumental in creating original series and specials. Her contributions during this period included helping to develop shows like “Mary Mary,” “Kendra on Top” and “L.A. Hair.” Prior to her work at WeTV, O’Hearn held the position of vice president at the non-fiction media producer Darlow Smithson Productions.

O’Hearn is survived by her husband Richard, her children Ian and Michael, and her four brothers William, Robert, Michael, and Tierney. Those wishing to offer support can make donations to the NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center .