Ann Hornaday, longtime Washington Post film critic, dies at 66

Ann Hornaday, the chief film critic of The Washington Post for more than two decades, died Sunday at her home in Baltimore. She was 66.

She died after a battle with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, Variety reported. The Post published its obituary for Hornaday on October 19, 2026.

Hornaday joined the Post in 2002 and left in 2025, spending more than 20 years on the film beat, according to Variety. She served as the paper’s chief film critic. Her tenure made her one of the longest-running voices in American newspaper criticism.

In 2008 she was honoured as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism. The prize recognises distinguished writing in newspapers and other outlets. Her submission included her review of “There Will Be Blood.”

She also wrote about cinema beyond the review column. Hornaday is the author of “Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies,” a guide for general readers on how to watch films closely. Before her death she completed a book about the filming of “All the President’s Men.”

Her path to criticism ran through magazines and regional papers. She worked as a freelance writer in New York, contributing to The New York Times and Premiere magazine. She spent two years at Ms. Magazine as Gloria Steinem’s personal assistant.

She later served as film critic for the Austin American-Statesman and then for the Baltimore Sun before joining the Post. The moves took her from Texas to Baltimore to Washington. Each post widened her readership.

Ann Mills Hornaday was born March 9, 1960, in Iowa City. She was adopted at birth by William R. Hornaday Jr. and Mary Mills. She grew up in Des Moines.

She graduated from Smith College in 1982 with a major in government. While working as a critic she was a parishioner and Sunday school teacher in Baltimore. Colleagues often noted that life outside the screening room.

She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Dennis Greenia, her daughter Victoria Greenia, stepdaughter Leila Greenia and brother William Hornaday III, Variety reported.