Oscar-winning actor Eva Marie Saint has died aged 102 at her home in Los Angeles, her family representative Jeff Sanderson has confirmed.
Saint won the Academy Award for her first film, On the Waterfront, in which she played the love interest of Marlon Brando’s troubled dockworker, Terry Malloy. She later starred opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller North by Northwest.
Her acceptance speech for the 1954 film was made while she was pregnant with her first child. Accepting the Oscar from Frank Sinatra, she said: “I think I may have the baby right here.”
Her son, Darrell, was born two days later. Saint and her husband, television and stage director Jeffrey Hayden, had a daughter, Laurette, in 1958.
A selective Hollywood career
Saint chose her roles carefully, appearing in only seven films during her first decade in Hollywood. She turned down opportunities in productions including The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit, Summer And Smoke and The Rainmaker.
She also declined studio contracts and stepped away from work to spend time with her new son. Despite her selectivity, she continued to receive leading film offers, including roles in Exodus, Raintree County and All Fall Down.
Hayden persuaded her to accept Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, released in 1959. Saint played a woman who seduces Grant’s character as part of a spy plot before falling in love with him.
Recalling her husband’s advice in a 2014 interview, she said: “Honey, I think you should find a quiet spot. I’ll take care of the children and I want you to really think about this and re-read this script.” She added: “He was so right. And that’s what husbands are for.”
Saint moved increasingly into television during the 1970s and found a new audience in the 1980s as Cybill Shepherd’s mother in the sitcom Moonlighting and Tom Hanks’ mother in the comedy Nothing In Common.
She won an Emmy for the 1990 miniseries People Like Us and continued acting into the 21st century, appearing in films including Because Of Winn-Dixie, Superman Returns and Winter’s Tale.
Her final listed role was in 2021, when she played Marisa Tomei’s aunt in the audio play The Bus Ride. Saint was married to Hayden for 55 years until his death in 2016.
From radio drama to Hollywood
Born in Newark, New Jersey, on July 4, 1924, Saint moved with her family to Delmar, near Albany, New York. She initially hoped to become a teacher like her mother, but took the leading role in a university play while studying at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
After graduating, she spent a year looking for acting work in Manhattan before securing a small part as a telephone operator in a radio drama. She went on to work regularly in soap operas and night-time dramas, including a two-year run as Claudia in One Man’s Family.
She later joined the Actors Studio after auditioning for Elia Kazan, and credited acting coach Lee Strasberg with helping her overcome her shyness. Her breakthrough came when Kazan asked her to improvise a scene with Brando for On the Waterfront.
Recalling the audition, Saint said: “All I know is that Marlon got in the door and turned on the music. We started dancing. He flicked my skirt. Kazan saw the sparks fly, and that’s how I got the part.”
