Eva Marie Saint Dies at 102: Oscar-Winning Star of On the Waterfront
Eva Marie Saint, the Oscar-winning American actress known for On the Waterfront and North by Northwest, has died at the age of 102. According to NPR, she died on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. An obituary published on Legacy.com says she died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles.
Her life and career
Legacy.com says Saint was born on July 4, 1924, in New Jersey and attended high school in Delmar, New York. She later earned a degree at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she was in the Delta Gamma sorority. NPR says she grew up in Albany and Delmar.
Deadline describes her as an Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor trained in the Actors Studio, who also worked on stage, including in productions at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Deadline adds that she co-starred with Henry Fonda in the stage production First Monday in October, in Chicago and Los Angeles. NPR says she did not make a film until she was almost 30.
On the Waterfront and the Oscar
NPR reports that director Elia Kazan suggested she screen test with Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront, released in 1954. She played Edie Doyle, a young woman caught up in union corruption after her brother is killed, according to NPR and Legacy.com.
Legacy.com says the part, her film debut, won her the only Oscar of her career, for best supporting actress. Brando won best actor for the same film, according to Deadline, which adds that Saint was the oldest living Academy Award winner until her death.
Later career and family
NPR reports that five years later she starred opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, playing a femme fatale in the 1959 thriller. Legacy.com says she kept acting after that but chose to limit her roles in order to spend more time with her family.
Filmstarts says her last cinema appearance was in a fantasy film with Colin Farrell, and that she spent her retirement in Los Angeles. She turned 100 in July 2024. Hello! reports that she told People: “I certainly don’t feel 100 years old.”
The Associated Press, via CBS News, reported that her husband, the director Jeffrey Hayden, died on December 24, 2016, at age 90, after a year of cancer treatment. It said he was survived by Saint, their two children and grandchildren. Wikipedia says she married him in 1951.
Quick timeline:
- July 4, 1924: Born in New Jersey.
- 1946: Graduates from Bowling Green State University, per Wikipedia.
- 1951: Marries Jeffrey Hayden.
- 1954: Stars in On the Waterfront and wins the Oscar.
- 1959: Stars in North by Northwest.
- October 6, 2026: Dies at 102.
What happens next
The sources reviewed do not give details of funeral or memorial arrangements, and no statement from her family was reported. Readers should watch official announcements and the entertainment trade press for updates and tributes.
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