Patrick Stewart dead at 86: Star Trek and X-Men actor passes away after ‘poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia’
Star Trek icon Sir Patrick Stewart has died aged 86.
Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following ‘a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,’ spokesman Kelly Bush Novak announced.
The English star gained international stardom for his leading role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987–1994, a role he reprised in a series of films and Star Trek: Picard from 2020–2023.
He also garnered acclaim for playing Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series from 2000 to 2017.
‘His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre,’ an emotional statement read.
‘He explored the human condition in all its poetic complexity and brought hope not only to the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but into science fiction’s most iconic final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise.
‘His professional accomplishments were humbly matched by his philanthropy and activism on behalf of human rights, survivors of domestic violence, global refugees, veterans’ mental health services, and animal welfare, particularly his cherished foster pitties.
Star Trek icon Sir Patrick Stewart has died aged 86 – he was best known for his leading role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek
Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following ‘a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,’ spokesman Kelly Bush Novak announced – pictured June 2024
The star was wed three times – marrying his final wife Sunny Ozell in 2013 – pictured 2023
‘He was a Knight, Chancellor, motor sport enthusiast, and lifelong Huddersfield Football fan. He will be remembered for the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role — in his art and life.’
While best known for his roles in blockbuster movies and TV shows the classically trained stage actor also scaled the Shakespearean canon.
In 1966 he began his career in the Royal Shakespeare Company and later made his Broadway theatre debut in 1971 in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
He would go onto win a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Antony and Cleopatra in the West End.
Besides playing everyone from Claudius to Macbeth, he often performed a one-man rendition of A Christmas Carol and did West End and Broadway runs of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in repertoire with buddy Ian McKellen.
Stewart was knighted in 2010 by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.
The actor was married three times and is survived by two children.
He first wed Sheila Falconer in 1966 and they divorced in 1990 – welcoming son Daniel and daughter Sophia together.
His second wife was to Wendy Neuss, one of the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation. They married in 2000 and divorced three years later.
His third and final marriage was to singer and songwriter Sunny Ozell, 47, who he wed in 2013.
In a 2015 interview with The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine, Ozell said the hardest part of their relationship was meeting Stewart’s children from his first marriage.
He also garnered acclaim for playing Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series from 2000 to 2017
She said. ‘That was territory I trod on very lightly. I didn’t want to force myself on them but they were very welcoming.’
And she said the age gap was irrelevant. ‘He is so youthful and I guess I’m kind of an old worry wart so we bridge the gap. It doesn’t come up much. He’s in better shape than me, which infuriates me.’
And Stewart said: ‘I remember my 40th birthday vividly and I swear to God it was last week. I have a little bit of arthritis but I don’t feel any different.’
The couple met through a mutual friend in 2008 when American singer-songwriter Ozell was working as a waitress in New York.
They married in September 2013 on the banks of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in a wedding officiated by Stewart’s best friend and fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen.
McKellen registered as a minister with the Universal Life Church, which celebrates freedom of religion, in order to officiate at Stewart and Ozell’s wedding on the shores of Lake Tahoe two years ago.
‘It was an immediate attraction,’ said Stewart of his first time meeting Ozell.
‘When she came over to offer us dessert on the house – because her manager had insisted – we got talking.
‘She very kindly said she wanted to see Macbeth and then I gave her my mobile phone number.’
‘Instinct is everything in a situation like that,’ says Stewart, who had only recently divorced his second wife, Neuss.
‘I felt I was talking to a really nice, intelligent, interesting, gorgeous woman. It’s rare that those elements all come together at the same time.’
