Claire van Kampen, theater director and the wife of Mark Rylance, was 71 when she died on his birthday on Saturday, Jan. 18, Rylance confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE.

Claire van Kampen, a theater director, composer and wife of actor Mark Rylance, died Saturday morning. She was 71. Van Kampen died in Kassel, Germany, “surrounded by her family” following a battle with cancer, Rylance and her daughter Juliet shared in a statement. Saturday was also her husband’s 65th birthday.

Claire van Kampen, a composer, director, writer and frequent collaborator of her Oscar-winning husband Mark Rylance, died Saturday morning at age 71.

Theater director and composer Claire van Kampen died of cancer Saturday at the age of 71 , according to a statement from her family.

Actor Mark Rylance and his family confirmed the death of Claire van Kampen on Saturday, January 18, at the age of 71

Mark Rylance is mourning the loss of his beloved wife Claire Van Kampen!The theatre director has passed away at the age of 71 after being diagnosed with cancer. Rylance and her daughter Juliet confirmed her sad demise in a heartfelt statement

Claire van Kampen has sadly died at the age of 71 after a courageous battle with cancer – on the birthday of her husband Sir Mark Rylance. Director and playwright Claire composed the music for BBC series Wolf Hall, as well as working on the music for her husband's iconic performance of Hamlet in 1989.

Claire van Kampen, who has died from cancer aged 71, was a pianist, composer and playwright who made arrangements of Tudor-era music for the BBC TV series Wolf Hall, introduced Shakespearean-era instruments to Broadway theatres and wrote Farinelli and the King (2015),

Actor and playwriter Mark Rylance announced over the weekend that his wife, director and composer Claire van Kampen, passed away amid her battle with cancer on his 65th birthday. She was 71 years old.