Eva Marie Saint, Oscar-winning actress of 'On the Waterfront' and 'North by Northwest,' dies at 102

Eva Marie Saint, the Oscar-winning actress whose screen career stretched from early live television to Hollywood landmarks including “On the Waterfront” and “North by Northwest,” died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 102. Her death was confirmed by family representative and publicist Jeff Sanderson. No cause of death was disclosed.

Saint was one of the best-known actresses of midcentury American film and television, with a career that linked two defining eras of American entertainment: the rise of live TV in the late 1940s and the classic Hollywood studio system. She remained a touchstone in film history in part because she won an Academy Award for her first feature-film performance, then went on to star in Alfred Hitchcock’s sleek Cold War thriller “North by Northwest” opposite Cary Grant.

She was born July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, and later moved with her family to Delmar, New York. By the late 1940s, she was working in television, part of the generation of performers shaped by the demanding pace of live broadcasts before moving into films.

Her movie breakthrough came in Elia Kazan’s 1954 drama “On the Waterfront,” in which she starred opposite Marlon Brando. The performance earned Saint the Academy Award for best supporting actress at the 27th Oscars in 1955, an unusually striking achievement for a film debut and one that helped secure her place in American screen history.

She followed with roles in films including “A Hatful of Rain,” “Raintree County,” “Exodus,” “All Fall Down” and “Grand Prix,” showing a range that extended well beyond the part that first made her famous. In 1959, she took on one of her most enduring roles in Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” playing the cool, enigmatic woman at the center of the director’s cross-country chase story with Grant.

Though best remembered for her work in the 1950s and 1960s, Saint continued acting for decades. Later screen credits included “Because of Winn-Dixie,” “Superman Returns” and “Winter’s Tale.” She also maintained a long television career and won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1990 for outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or a special for “People Like Us.”

A small note from her Oscar night became part of Hollywood lore. Accepting her award in 1955, she said, “I think I may have the baby right here.” Her son Darrell was born two days later.

Saint married television director and producer Jeffrey Hayden on Oct. 28, 1951. They remained married until his death in 2016. She is survived by their two children, Darrell and Laurette.

Her long career was reflected in honors beyond the Oscar and Emmy. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for television.

SAG-AFTRA, the performers union, paid tribute Tuesday in a public statement: “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 organized labor, she leaves an enduring example for generations of union members.”