Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 102, family representatives confirmed to the Associated Press, as reported by NRC. Saint defined an era of Hollywood cinema through her roles in 1954’s On the Waterfront and 1959’s North by Northwest, maintaining a career that spanned more than seven decades across television, radio, and film.
Saint wins Oscar for On the Waterfront debut
Before moving to the silver screen, Saint built her early career in radio and television during the late 1940s, according to nos.nl. Her very first film role came in 1954 as Terry Malloy’s love interest, opposite Marlon Brando in the crime drama On the Waterfront, as noted by NRC. The performance brought immediate critical praise, with The New York Times describing her as bringing “tenderness and sensitivity in a sincere romance, amid a bloodbath.” That debut performance won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She accepted the gold statuette from Frank Sinatra while heavily pregnant, according to nos.nl.
Saint limits roles to focus on family
Despite receiving numerous offers from Hollywood studios following her Oscar win, Saint deliberately limited her output to focus on her family, accepting only seven film roles during her first decade in the industry, NRC reported. In 1959, she took on the role of spy Eve Kendall in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller North by Northwest alongside Cary Grant. According to an interview Saint gave to Vanity Fair in 2014, cited by NRC, her husband and director Jeffrey Hayden convinced her to take the part. He told her he would handle the childcare and urged her to reread the script, advice she later acknowledged was entirely correct. Saint and Hayden remained married for 65 years until his death in 2016, according to nos.nl.
Saint finds success in television and late films
Throughout the 1960s, Saint appeared in features such as Exodus, Raintree County, All Fall Down, The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, and Grand Prix, before shifting her focus toward television. Her popularity surged again in the 1980s when she portrayed Cybill Shepherd’s mother in the sitcom Moonlighting and Tom Hanks’s mother in the comedy Nothing in Common, as detailed by NRC. She won an Emmy Award in 1990 for her work in the miniseries People Like Us. Rejecting a quiet retirement, she continued acting into her later years, appearing in 2005’s Because of Winn-Dixie, 2006’s Superman Returns, and 2014’s Winter’s Tale, while earning two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to film and television.
Frequently Asked Questions About Eva Marie Saint
What caused the death of Eva Marie Saint?
A family spokesperson stated that Eva Marie Saint died a natural death at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 102, according to RTL.nl.
How many children did Eva Marie Saint have with Jeffrey Hayden?
Saint and her husband Jeffrey Hayden, who were married for 65 years until his death in 2016, shared two children together, as reported by RTL.nl.
What was Saint’s final acting performance?
Saint’s final acting credit took place in 2021, when she played the aunt of Marisa Tomei in the short audio drama The Bus Ride, according to NRC.