Eva Marie Saint (born 1924)

Eva Marie Saint is a retired movie and television actress who enjoyed an acting career of over seven decades. She is the oldest-living and earliest-surviving Academy Award winner and is one of the last living stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Biography

Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey into a Quaker family. Her childhood was secure and she attended Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar, New York, where her early ambition was to be a teacher. After graduating in 1942, she developed a strong love for the stage and began studying acting at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She graduated from there in 1946 and attended the Actors Studio which had been founded by Elia Kazan and which was then building up a formidable reputation for producing top class performers.

Eva first appeared professionally as a NBC page and she made numerous appearances on television in 'Campus Hoopla' in 1946–47 and in 1949 as one of the original singing "Bonnie Maids" used in the live commercials. Her first important success was in 1953, when she won a Drama Critics' Award for her Broadway stage role in the play 'The Trip to Bountiful', co-starring with top performers such as Lillian Gish and Jo Van Fleet.

On the Waterfront 1954

Eva made her feature film debut in 'On the Waterfront' in 1954, co-starring Marlon Brando and directed by Elia Kazan. The film was a major success and Eve won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the role of Edie Doyle. Her movie career was launched.

In 1955, Eva was twice nominated for an Emmy for her outstanding performances in 'Middle of the Night' by Paddy Chayefsky.and for the television musical version of 'Our Town'.

Her film career continued successfully in films such as 'A Hatful of Rain' and 'Raintree County' and she continued to make numerous appearances on television, then still a new medium. In1959 she was invited by Alfred Hitchcock to appear opposite Cary Grant in 'North by Northwest'.

North by Northwest 1959

'North by Northwest' became a huge hit and would influence spy movie directors for many years..Eva's performance in particular, as a seductive woman of mystery, was widely praised by the critics. She was now a top Hollywood film actress and could have propelled herself higher still, but she began to limit her appearances in order to spend more time with her husband and children. Nevertheless the 1960s would prove to be a fruitful period for her.

In 1960 she co-starred with Paul Newman in 'Exodus', directed by Otto Preminger and she also appeared with Warren Beatty in the drama 'All Fall Down' in 1962. The successes continued with films like '36 Hours' and 'The Sandpiper' in 1965, the unusual comedic satire, 'The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming', directed by Norman Jewison, and also the international racing drama, 'Grand Prix' in 1966.

In 1970 as the movie offers lessened. Eva received some of her best reviews for her performance in 'Loving' co-starring with George Segal. She began to find regular roles on television. She received an Emmy nomination for the 1977 miniseries 'How The West Was Won' and a 1978 Emmy nomination for 'Taxi!!!.' and she was reunited with 'Karl Malden' in the television film 'Fatal Vision'. She played the mother of Cybill Shepherd in the television series 'Moonlighting', a role spanning episodes over three years.

In 2005 she returned to the big screen in "Don’t Come Knocking" with Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard. In the same year she made "Because of Winn-Dixie" with Jeff Daniels and Cicely Tyson. In 2006, she played the adoptive mother of the Man of Steel in "Superman Returns."

In 2018, at the age of 93, Eva received a standing ovation when she appeared at the Academy Award ceremony to present the award for Costume Design.

Personal

Eva was married just once, to director Jeffrey Hayden on October 28, 1951. They had a son and daughter.together and remained happily married for 65 years until Hayden's death in 2016.

Eva turned 100.in 2024 and she spent that milestone celebrating with four generations of her family in Los Angeles.

Eva Marie Saint Filmography