Eva Marie Saint (July 4, 1924 – October 6, 2026) was an American actress. In a career spanning seven decades, she received an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe. At the time of her death, Saint was one of the earliest and oldest living Academy Award winners and one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Saint continued her film career with roles in Raintree County and A Hatful of Rain (both 1957); for the latter she was nominated for a Golden Globe and a second BAFTA Award. She then starred as Eve Kendall in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) a landmark thriller that became one of the defining films of both Hitchcock's career and the suspense genre.
During this time, Saint played the lead role in a production of Personal Appearance. She was an active member of the theater honorary fraternity, Theta Alpha Phi, and served as record keeper of the student council in 1944. Saint graduated from Bowling Green in 1946. A theater on its campus is named after her.
Saint's introduction to television began as an NBC page. She appeared in the live NBC-TV show Campus Hoopla from 1946 to 1947. She also appeared in Bonnie Maid's Versa-Tile Varieties on NBC in 1949 as one of the original singing "Bonnie Maids" used in the live commercials.
Saint appeared in LIFE twice prior to becoming a star. She was featured in a photograph which began a December 1, 1947, special essay about television, then a September 19, 1949, feature article about her as a struggling actress earning minimum amounts from early TV while trying to make ends meet in New York City.
In his review for The New York Times, film critic A. H. Weiler wrote, "In casting Eva Marie Saint—a newcomer to movies from TV and Broadway—Mr. Kazan has come up with a pretty and blond artisan who does not have to depend on these attributes. Her parochial school training is no bar to love with the proper stranger. Amid scenes of carnage, she gives tenderness and sensitivity to genuine romance." The film was a major success and launched Saint's film career. She received $7,500 for the role.
Saint recalled making the film, which has been highly influential, saying, "[Elia] Kazan put me in a room with Marlon Brando. He said 'Brando is the boyfriend of your sister. You're not used to being with a young man. Don't let him in the door under any circumstances.' I don't know what he told Marlon; you'll have to ask him—good luck! [Brando] came in and started teasing me. He put me off balance. And I remained off balance for the whole shoot." Her appearance in On The Waterfront is referenced in the lyrics of the 1984 song "Rattlesnakes" by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.
In 1956, Saint appeared alongside Bob Hope in That Certain Feeling for which she received $50,000. She was then offered $100,000 to star in the Civil War drama Raintree County (1957) with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. After that, she starred with Don Murray in A Hatful of Rain, the pioneering drug-addiction drama, which although made later than Raintree County was released earlier in 1957. She received a nomination for the "Best Foreign Actress" award from the British Academy of Film and Television for her performance.
Hitchcock worked with Saint to make her voice lower and huskier, and personally chose costumes for her during a shopping trip to Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.
In his review of the film on August 7, 1959, The New York Times critic Abe H. Weiler wrote, "In casting Eva Marie Saint as [Cary Grant's] romantic vis-a-vis, Mr. Hitchcock has plumbed some talents not shown by the actress heretofore. Although she is seemingly a hard, designing type, she also emerges both the sweet heroine and a glamorous charmer."
In 2000, recalling her experience making the picture with Cary Grant and Hitchcock, Saint said, "[Grant] would say, 'See, Eva Marie, you don't have to cry in a movie to have a good time. Just kick up your heels and have fun.' Hitchcock said, 'I don't want you to do a sink-to-sink movie again, ever. You've done these black-and-white movies like On the Waterfront. It's drab in that tenement house. Women go to the movies, and they've just left the sink at home. They don't want to see you at the sink.'" In a 2010 interview she stated: "I said, 'I can't promise you that, Hitch, because I love those dramas.'"
In 1970, Saint starred in Loving, alongside George Segal. The film was about a commercial artist's relationship with his wife and other women; it was critically acclaimed but did not have wide viewership.
In the 1970s and 1980s, with her return to television, Saint saw a resurgence in her career. She received an Emmy nomination for the 1977 miniseries How The West Was Won and a 1978 Emmy nomination for Taxi!!!. She was reunited with On the Waterfront co-star Karl Malden in the television film Fatal Vision, this time as the wife of his character, as he investigated the murder of his daughter and granddaughters. She played the mother of Cybill Shepherd in the television series Moonlighting, a role that spanned episodes over three years.
In 1986, Saint returned to the big screen for the first time in over a decade in Nothing in Common, in which she played the mother of Tom Hanks's character; it was directed by Garry Marshall. After receiving five nominations, she won her first Emmy Award for the 1990 miniseries People Like Us. She appeared in a number of television productions in the 1990s, and was cast as the mother of radio producer Roz Doyle in a 1999 episode of the comedy series Frasier.
At the age of 93, Saint appeared at the 2018 Academy Award ceremony to present the award for Costume Design. She received a standing ovation upon entering the stage. In 2021, Saint appeared alongside Marisa Tomei in the podcast play series The Pack Podcast as part of the segment "The Bus Ride".
In 1960, Saint became one of the few actresses to be given two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for her contributions to television and one for her contributions to motion pictures. The one for motion pictures is at 6624 Hollywood Boulevard, and the one for television is at 6730 Hollywood Boulevard.
Personal life and death
Saint and her husband, Jeffrey Hayden, at the 1990 Emmy Awards
Saint married producer and director Jeffrey Hayden on October 28, 1951. They had a son and daughter. Their son was born two days after she won an Academy Award for On the Waterfront. She began her acceptance speech by saying, "I may have the baby right here!" Saint and Hayden had four grandchildren and were married for 65 years until Hayden's death in 2016.
On July 4, 2024, Saint turned 100. She spent her 100th birthday celebrating with four generations of family members in Los Angeles.
Saint died at her home in Los Angeles, on October 6, 2026, at the age of 102.
Legacy
Following her death, The New York Times called Saint a "luminous beauty with dramatic depth" who brought a "layered intensity to harrowing roles". The Hollywood Reporter called her an "ethereal beauty" who "dazzled" audiences in her films. USA Today noted that Saint was "one of the last figures of a bygone Hollywood era". The Los Angeles Times called her a "graceful actor". After her death, she was remembered as one of the last living actors from the Hollywood Golden era and a "Hollywood icon". Rolling Stone called Saint a "revered actress", whose performances in North by Northwest (1959) and On the Waterfront (1954), "encapsulated the glories of the 1950s' Hollywood studio system". Associated Press called her film debut in On the Waterfront as "one of the most spectacular debuts in Hollywood history".
For her role in North by Northwest, Saint was regarded as an iconic leading lady who redefined the way leading women were seen on film. The Daily Telegraph called Saint the "blueprint for the Bond girl" despite the fact that Saint never starred in any James Bond films. Her role in North by Northwest and Saint's "femme fatale" character in the film were noted as inspirations for the Bond girl characters. The BBC also noted this in their obituary of Saint, saying that she helped "create the sophisticated, sexually confident and intelligent blonde-haired archetype" seen in Bond girls. In a retrospective article highlighting her career, The New York Times noted that Saint specialized in "complex sympathetic women" who did their best to combat "domestic and cultural storms" while noting her ability to "add complexity and depth" to "good woman types". The Guardian also noted that Saint had "something distinctive to offer [for] that leading lady template" whose "style of femininity became unfashionable" and regarded Saint as a cinematic icon.
With her expansive career, Saint was regarded as one of the last major performers who linked the golden age of Hollywood, the rise of television and the modern film era. The British Film Institute noted that throughout her extensive career, Saint was able to "combine Hollywood glamour with Actors Studio integrity" while also noting that she was "synonymous with elegance". Rolling Stone called her "one of the last bridges to Hollywood's Golden Age".
Film critic Leonard Maltin noted that Saint was a "luminous blond leading lady who found few vehicles worthy of her talents". Upon listing the "100 Great Moments in the Movies", film critic Roger Ebert noted the scene where Saint is clinging to Cary Grant's hand on Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest as one of cinema's greatest moments. Critic Pauline Kael said that Saint's film performances were "timeless" and "stunning". Turner Classic Movies programming remembered Saint on 25 October 2026, by showing several consecutive films in which she starred.
↑Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The complete directory to prime time network and cable TV shows: 1946 – present. New York: Ballantine Books. p.214. ISBN978-0-345-49773-4.
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