Hollywood is mourning the loss of one of its most enduring stars after Eva Marie Saint, the Oscar-winning actress known for some of the most celebrated films of the 1950s, died at age 102.
Saint died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles of natural causes, according to her publicist Jeff Sanderson. She was surrounded by family and loved ones. Her death marks the passing of a performer whose career stretched across nearly seven decades.
Saint made an extraordinary entrance into Hollywood with her first major film role in 1954’s On the Waterfront. Starring opposite Marlon Brando, she played Edie Doyle and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the performance. She became only the fourth person at the time to win the award for a film debut.
Just five years later, she took on another iconic role in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, starring opposite Cary Grant. She played Eve Kendall, a mysterious woman caught up in an international espionage plot. The film became one of Hitchcock’s most famous thrillers and cemented Saint’s place in Hollywood history.
Unlike many stars of her generation, Saint deliberately kept her film career selective. She turned down numerous roles and studio contracts so she could spend more time raising her two children with her husband, television director Jeffrey Hayden. The couple remained married for 65 years until his death in 2016.
Saint continued acting for decades, appearing in films including Exodus, Grand Prix, Because of Winn-Dixie and Superman Returns. She also found success on television and won an Emmy for the 1990 miniseries People Like Us. She continued working well into her 90s.
Saint is survived by her two children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.