LOS ANGELES — Eva Marie Saint, the actor who won an Academy Award for her screen debut in “On the Waterfront” and later starred opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” has died. She was 102.
Saint died Tuesday, Oct. 6, at her Los Angeles home, family representative Jeff Sanderson confirmed to The Associated Press. A statement from her spokesperson said the cause was natural causes.
An Oscar-winning film debut
Saint entered movies after building a career in live television and on the New York stage. Her first feature role was Edie Doyle in Elia Kazan’s 1954 drama “On the Waterfront,” opposite Marlon Brando.
The performance brought Saint the Academy Award for best supporting actress. She accepted the Oscar while pregnant and gave birth to her son Darrell two days later.
The film won eight Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Kazan and best actor for Brando. Saint’s restrained performance as a young woman confronting corruption on the New York docks helped establish her as a major dramatic actor immediately.
From Kazan to Hitchcock
Saint made one of her best-known changes of pace in 1959, playing Eve Kendall in Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.” The romantic espionage thriller paired her with Grant and placed her at the center of some of the director’s most celebrated sequences, including the finale on Mount Rushmore.
Her other film credits included “Exodus,” “All Fall Down,” “The Sandpiper,” “Grand Prix” and “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.” She worked with directors including Otto Preminger, John Frankenheimer, Vincente Minnelli and Norman Jewison.
Saint remained selective, turning down some roles and avoiding a long-term studio contract as she balanced acting with family life. She married television director Jeffrey Hayden in 1951; they remained married until his death in 2016 and had two children.
A career that extended into a new century
Saint frequently returned to television and won a Primetime Emmy in 1990 for “People Like Us.” Her later film appearances included “Because of Winn-Dixie,” “Superman Returns” and “Winter’s Tale.” Her acting career spanned more than seven decades.
Born July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, Saint studied at Bowling Green State University and trained at the Actors Studio. She was among the last living performers closely associated with Hollywood’s postwar studio era.
The Associated Press reported Saint’s death and the family representative’s confirmation on Oct. 6. Reuters also reported her death and career history. Entertainment Tonight included the news in its current entertainment coverage.
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Featured image credit: Felix Mooneeram/Unsplash. The cinema image is illustrative and does not depict Eva Marie Saint.