Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint has died at the age of 102. The star won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her movie debut in Elia Kazan's 1954 crime thriller On the Waterfront, where she played Edie Doyle, the love interest of Marlon Brando's conflicted ex-boxing docker.
Career highlights and death announcement
Eva went on to play femme fatale Eve Kendall, who seduced Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock's action thriller North by Northwest. Eva died on Tuesday (October 6) of natural causes, surrounded by her family and loved ones at her home in Los Angeles, her representative Jeff Sanderson confirmed.
The news of Eva's death was announced during the latest episode of BBC Breakfast on Wednesday (October 7), which was hosted by Sally Nugent and Jon Kay, reports the Mirror.
Tributes from BBC Breakfast and fans
"Tributes have been paid to one of the last stars of Hollywood's golden age, the American actor Eva Marie Saint, who has died at the age of 102," Sally revealed. A pre-recorded tribute video was then played, during which reporter Charlotte Gallagher looked back on Eva's glittering career. Jon later remarked that it was the "end of an era", following the death of the acting legend.
Fans were quick to share tributes across social media, following the news of Eva's death. "The chill that just went down my spine... truly one of the last links to old Hollywood and it never gets easy to lose someone, no matter their age. Rest in peace, sweet Eva [heart emoji]," one person wrote on X.
US union SAG-AFTRA also paid tribute, writing on X: "We celebrate Eva Marie Saint, who died today at 102. A #SagAftraMember since 1947, Saint won an Oscar for her film debut in On the Waterfront and starred in North by Northwest. An advocate for organised labour, she leaves an enduring example for generations of union members."
Someone else commented: "Rest in Peace Eva Marie Saint. One of the most beautiful women in Hollywood history. Oscar winner."
Early life and later career
Eva was born in Newark, New Jersey. She trained in New York at the Herbert Berghof Studio and the Actors Studio, before bursting onto the Hollywood scene with her performance in On the Waterfront.
Speaking about her role in North by Northwest and working alongside Cary Grant, Eva previously said: "He worked with me from the outside in. My hair, my make-up, my shoes, my jewellery, my purse, my gloves, everything. And just from creating that exterior for me, he gave me the sense of a spy lady."
The actress also starred opposite Paul Newman in Otto Preminger's Exodus, and played Warren Beatty's love interest in All Fall Down. Eva then stepped away from the limelight to raise her family with director Jeffrey Hayden.
BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am.
