Eva Marie Saint, one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood's golden age, has died at the age of 102. The actress, known for her roles in On the Waterfront and North by Northwest, passed away from natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, a family spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.
Career Defined by 1950s Classics
Saint made her screen debut opposite Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, directed by Elia Kazan. She later starred in Alfred Hitchcock's celebrated thriller North by Northwest and, in one of her last screen appearances, played Superman's adoptive mother Martha Kent in the 2006 film Superman Returns.
Born in 1924 in New Jersey to a Quaker family, Saint began her career as a radio and TV performer. Her early struggles were chronicled in a 1949 Life magazine feature that prophetically stated, “The name of Eva Marie Saint may someday be a household word.” By 1953, she appeared in both the original telecast and the Broadway premiere of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful.
Oscar Win and Hitchcock Collaboration
Saint told the Santa Barbara Independent that Kazan spotted her in The Trip to Bountiful and invited her to audition by improvising a scene with Brando. She found the experience difficult but was offered the role of Edie Doyle in the drama about mob union activities, winning the Oscar for best supporting actress in 1955.
Following this success, Saint took on a variety of leading roles, including opposite Cary Grant in Hitchcock's 1959 spy classic North by Northwest, where she played secret agent Eve Kendall, “a blond who has all the answers.” She said in a TCM interview that she landed the role partly by wearing beige and white gloves to a lunch with Hitchcock.
Later Career and Family Life
Saint began the 1960s with Exodus, playing nurse Kitty Fremont, but later reduced her workload to focus on her family. Her film appearances dwindled in the 1970s and 1980s, with more work in TV movies and guest roles. She won an Emmy for the 1990 mini-series People Like Us and appeared in Superman Returns, where she was “reunited” with Brando through archival footage.
Saint married Jeffrey Hayden in 1951, and they had two children. Hayden died in 2016. Her final onscreen role was in Winter's Tale as the sister of Colin Farrell's character.
