Oscar-Winning Actress Eva Marie Saint, Star of Hollywood Classics, Dies at 102

Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint, best known for her roles in On the Waterfront and North by Northwest, has died at the age of 102.

Saint died on Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, surrounded by family and loved ones, according to family representative Jeff Sanderson. She was the oldest surviving Oscar winner and among the last major stars of Hollywood’s golden age.

Saint won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut in Elia Kazan’s 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront. She played Edie Doyle, the determined young woman who becomes the love interest of Marlon Brando’s conflicted former boxer in the acclaimed film.

Five years later, she took on another celebrated role as Eve Kendall in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. Opposite Cary Grant, Saint played a mysterious and sophisticated woman who becomes romantically involved with his character while concealing her own motives.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1924, Saint initially planned to become a teacher before developing an interest in theatre. She trained at the Herbert Berghof Studio and later the Actors Studio in New York, which was co-founded by Kazan.

Her early career began in live television in the late 1940s before her breakthrough in Hollywood. She later appeared alongside Paul Newman in Exodus and Warren Beatty in All Fall Down, but reduced her acting workload while raising a family with her husband, director Jeffrey Hayden.

Saint returned to major film roles decades later, playing Clark Kent’s adoptive mother in the 2006 blockbuster Superman Returns. She subsequently appeared in Winter’s Tale and the 2019 drama Mariette in Ecstasy.

Her television career also earned her an Emmy Award in 1990 for her performance in the miniseries People Like Us. She received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, recognising her contributions to film and television.

Saint was married to Hayden for 65 years until his death in 2016. She is survived by their two children. Reflecting on her long career, she once said that growing older gave her a deeper understanding of life and helped make her a better actress.