Eva Marie Saint, Oscar‑winning actress, dies at 102

The Academy‑winning star passed away at her Los Angeles home, confirmed by her publicist Jeff Sanderson.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:14:25 GMT

Eva Marie Saint, the Oscar‑winning actress known for her roles in On the Waterfront and North by Northwest, died on Tuesday at age 102, according to her publicist.

What happened

Saint died of natural causes at her Los Angeles home, surrounded by family and loved ones, as reported by both Rolling Stone and CBS News. She was born on July 4, 1924, in New Jersey and began her career in television and stage before her film debut in 1954.

What the reports add

Rolling Stone noted that Saint’s representative Jeff Sanderson confirmed the death and added that she “died of natural causes surrounded by family and loved ones.”
CBS News specified the location as her Los Angeles residence and repeated Sanderson’s statement about natural causes.
CBS News reported that Saint was pregnant when she accepted her Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and gave birth to her son Darrell two days later.
Both outlets highlighted her breakthrough role opposite Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront and her later work as Eve Kendall in Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest.
CBS News added that Saint married director‑producer Jeffrey Hayden in 1951; the couple remained together for 65 years until his death in 2016 and had two children.
Saint told CBS’s “Sunday Morning” in 2014, “I had an agent once who wanted me to make many more movies… I said, ‘I can only do one a year, if that. I have children, young children.’ … ‘Fired him.’”
She earned an Emmy for the 1990 NBC miniseries People Like Us and received five Emmy nominations overall.
Rolling Stone described Saint as “one of the last bridges to Hollywood’s Golden Age” and an ambassador for that era.

What was said

“Died of natural causes surrounded by family and loved ones.” – Jeff Sanderson, publicist, to Rolling Stone.

“She was pregnant when she accepted the award; her son Darrell was born two days later.” – CBS News reporting Sanderson’s comments.

“I had an agent once who wanted me to make many more movies… I said, ‘I can only do one a year, if that. I have children, young children.’ … ‘Fired him.’” – Eva Marie Saint, quoted by CBS News.

How it came about

Saint’s career began after studying acting in college and performing on Broadway, where director Elia Kazan saw her in The Trip to Bountiful and cast her as Edie Doyle in On the Waterfront. Her performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the fourth performer to win for a debut role. She later starred in Fred Zinnemann’s drama A Hatful of Rain, Otto Preminger’s Exodus, and became iconic as Eve Kendall in Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. Throughout her six‑decade career she limited herself to about one film per year, prioritizing family, and continued to work in television, earning an Emmy for People Like Us. She remained active into her 90s, appearing on a podcast at age 97, and is remembered as a living link to Hollywood’s classic era.

Key facts

Eva Marie Saint died at age 102 of natural causes. (rollingstone.com)
She died at her home in Los Angeles, surrounded by family. (cbsnews.com)
Her publicist Jeff Sanderson confirmed the death. (rollingstone.com)
Saint was born on July 4, 1924, in New Jersey. (rollingstone.com)
She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for *On the Waterfront*. (cbsnews.com)