Eva Saint Mary, one of the last emblematic figures of Hollywood’s Golden Age, has died at the age of 102. The actress’s death occurred due to natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, according to her representative. The Oscar winner in 1955 was never a film star in the conventional sense. Despite possessing magnetic beauty and innate elegance, her approach to life and her craft broke the traditional molds of the Hollywood mecca.
It is impossible not to recall her as a femme fatale opposite Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959) by Alfred Hitchcock. Also alongside Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954) by Elia Kazan. When at the following year’s Oscar ceremony Frank Sinatra announced that the Best Supporting Actress winner was a young Eva Marie Saint, she walked onto the stage nine months pregnant. In her speech she teased the audience saying that the baby could be born right there. Her intuition did not miss by much: barely two days later she gave birth to her first son, Darrell.
These two films of the 1950s best represent this blonde, delicate-featured actress who worked for more than six decades in the world of cinema. A long career in which she managed to keep her private life out of the Hollywood whirlwind. No scandals were attributed to her, nor any infidelity; she only married once and rarely appeared in more than one film a year.
Although she appeared on magazine covers, she was never a style icon like Hitchcock’s other muse, Grace Kelly, nor a sex symbol like Elizabeth Taylor, with whom she shared an agent. She preferred to stay with the same man for more than sixty years and took things slowly, placing her children above stardom. She was an anti-diva by choice.
Eva Saint Mary: A Symbol of Dignity
The actress was born on July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, to Quaker parents whom she credited with developing her sense of discipline. From a very young age she wanted to pursue teaching, but changed her mind after she was encouraged by college to participate in a play. With her parents’ support, she chose acting instead of teaching. She moved from agency to agency in New York, working first in radio, on variety programs (“my first role was applauding off-camera”) and as a model, while training at the prestigious Actors Studio.
A young Eva Saint Mary.
At the height of her fame after working with Marlon Brando and Paul Newman, her agent pressured her to chain together multiple shoots without rest. Firmly, she told him she could not continue at that pace because she had two small children. When the agent stated with disdain that under those conditions she would never be a big star, she answered bluntly: “I suppose I will never be a superstar.” Thereupon, she fired him on the spot.
Eva Saint Mary then decided to step back to raise her family alongside American director Jeffrey Hayden, whom she married in 1951. They remained together until his death in 2016 and formed one of the longest-lasting and strongest couples in show business history. Even when she had to shoot abroad, she insisted on traveling with her entire family so as not to separate from them.
Transition to television and theater
From the 1970s onward, as Hollywood cinema changed and mature, quality roles on the big screen grew scarce, she poured her energy into television and theater with great success. Among her most memorable roles was playing Cybill Shepherd’s mother in the iconic series Moonlighting. More than half a century later, she returned to the cinema to portray Superman’s adoptive mother in the blockbuster Superman Returns (2006). She also won an Emmy in 1990 for her role as the wealthy widow in the acclaimed miniseries People Like Us.
Eva Saint Mary at the 2018 Oscars.
One of her last great moments was appearing at the 2018 Oscars ceremony to present an award at the age of 93. That night, the actress wowed the Dolby Theatre with her immense charisma. When taking the microphone, she proudly shared an interesting real fact: she was born in July 1924, four months before the Academy itself was founded. In fact, she remained, into her final years, the oldest Oscar winner still alive.
