John Forbes Nash Jr, the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician who inspired the Oscar-winning 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, and his wife Alicia have been killed in a taxi crash in New Jersey.
The Newark Star-Ledger reports that Nash, aged 86, and his wife, aged 82, were passengers in a cab which crashed into a guardrail on the New Jersey Turnpike while trying to overtake another car.
It is reported that the couple were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
The taxi-driver's injuries are reported not to be life-threatening.
The Nashes were portrayed in Ron Howard's biopic A Beautiful Mind by Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly.
Connelly won Best Supporting Actress for her performance, while Crowe was nominated for Best Actor.
The film also won the Oscars for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Paying tribute, Crowe wrote on Twitter: "Stunned... my heart goes out to John & Alicia & family. An amazing partnership. Beautiful minds, beautiful hearts."
Stunned...my heart goes out to John & Alicia & family. An amazing partnership. Beautiful minds, beautiful hearts. https://t.co/XF4V9MBwU4
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) May 24, 2015