Hollywood actress Eva Marie Saint, best known for her roles in ‘On the Waterfront’ and ‘North by Northwest,’ has passed away at the age of 102.
The actress passed away on Tuesday, October 6, of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, according to a press release. She was surrounded by her family and loved ones at the time of her passing.
She is survived by her husband of more than six decades, television director Jeffrey Hayden, their two children, Darrell and Laurette, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Born on July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, Saint studied at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She began her career in television and radio before making her Broadway debut in The Trip to Bountiful in 1953, according to PEOPLE magazine.
As per the publication, Saint made her film debut in 1954 with Elia Kazan’s ‘On the Waterfront.’ Her performance as Edie Doyle earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was just two days away from giving birth to her first child when she received the Oscar. While accepting the award, Saint joked, “I may have the baby right here!”
She went on to appear in several films, including That Certain Feeling, A Hatful of Rain, Raintree County, Exodus, All Fall Down, 36 Hours, Grand Prix, The Russians Are Coming, The Stalking Moon and Cancel My Reservation.
However, one of her most remembered roles came in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller North by Northwest. Saint played Eve Kendall opposite Cary Grant in the film, which became one of the most popular movies of her career.
Saint also had a long career on television and continued working across different formats over the years.
She married Jeffrey Hayden in 1951 after the two met on a subway. Hayden directed several popular television shows, including Leave It to Beaver and The Incredible Hulk. The couple later appeared together in a San Francisco production of A.R. Gurney’s ‘Love Letters’ in 2011.
Source: Khaleej Times