Hughes was 59.
The 'Brat Pack' director collapsed while taking a morning walk on the streets of Manhattan on Thursday, according to his spokeswoman.
Hughes' first directorial effort, 'Sixteen Candles', had won almost unanimous praise when it was released in 1984, due to its realistic depiction of middle-class high school life.
The film was the first of his string of comedies centered around high school life and teenagers.
Hughes' greatest commercial success was 'Home Alone', a film he wrote and produced about a child accidentally left behind when his family goes away for Christmas, forcing him to protect himself and his house from a pair of inept burglars. 'Home Alone' would be the top grossing film of 1990, and remains his most successful live-action comedy of all time. His last film as a director was 'Curly Sue' in 1991.
A father of two, Hughes stepped away from the limelight in the 1990s to run a farm in his native Illinois.
He later penned the screenplays for Jennifer Lopez starrer rom-com 'Maid In Manhattan' in 2002.
