Eva Marie Saint, Oscar winner for 'On the Waterfront,' dies at 102
Eva Marie Saint, who won an Oscar for her first film, "On the Waterfront," and starred opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 102.
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What happened
Eva Marie Saint died of natural causes Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, a family spokesperson said. She was 102.
Saint won the best supporting actress Oscar in 1955 for her first movie, "On the Waterfront." She played Edie Doyle opposite Marlon Brando in Elia Kazan's drama, which won eight Academy Awards, including best picture. Two days after the ceremony, she gave birth to her first child, Darrell, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
In Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" (1959), she played Eve Kendall, a mysterious woman who helps Cary Grant's character while he is on the run. Hitchcock took her shopping at Bergdorf Goodman to choose her wardrobe. "He worked with me from the outside in," she told Vanity Fair in 2014.
More context
Her other films included "A Hatful of Rain" and "Raintree County" (both 1957), "Exodus" (1960), "The Sandpiper" (1965) and "Grand Prix" (1966). Later she played Cybill Shepherd's mother on ABC's "Moonlighting," Tom Hanks' mother in "Nothing in Common" (1986) and Martha Kent in "Superman Returns" (2006). She also did voice work for Nickelodeon's "The Legend of Korra."
Saint started out in live TV in the late 1940s and 1950s. She won an Emmy in 1990 for NBC's "People Like Us." Born July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, she studied at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, which later named a campus theater after her.
She stepped back from movies in the early 1970s to focus on her family. She was married to director-producer Jeffrey Hayden from 1951 until his death in 2016. She is survived by her children, Darrell and Laurette, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
5 listed sources
- The Hollywood Reporter, Oct 6, 2026: Eva Marie Saint, Graceful Star of the Silver Screen, Dies at 102
- NBC News, Oct 6, 2026: Eva Marie Saint, star of 'On the Waterfront' and 'North by Northwest,' dies at 102
- CBS News, Oct 6, 2026: Eva Marie Saint, star of "On the Waterfront" and "North by Northwest," dies at age 102
- NPR, Oct 6, 2026: 'On The Waterfront' actress Eva Marie Saint dies at 102
- Sourcing note: Trade press and network news; no lean.
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Cause and place of death come from a family spokesperson, according to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News and CBS News. Career details are from The Hollywood Reporter's obituary.
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