Legendary Star Trek and X-Men actor Patrick Stewart has died following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was 86.
“[Patrick experienced] a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” his spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, announced on Thursday, October 29.
Novak continued, “He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all. We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
Stewart’s Instagram account encouraged fans to donate to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources “in lieu of [sending] flowers.”
Lewy body dementia is the second most common form of Alzheimer’s disease, per the Mayo Clinic. The condition develops when protein deposits called Lewy bodies form in the nerve cells of the brain, causing cognitive changes, memory loss and limited regulation of bodily functions, among other symptoms.
The four-time Emmy nominee memorably played an intelligence agent with Alzheimer’s disease in the 1998 independent action thriller Safe House, in which he starred with Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Héctor Elizondo.
Stewart’s iconic X-Men character, Professor Charles Xavier, also battled dementia in the 2017 movie Logan, in which Professor X teamed up with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) for one final battle against evil tycoon Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and his Reavers.
Stewart made his acting debut in May 1959 at the Theatre Royal in Bristol, England, for a production of Cyrano de Bergerac. He joined the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 and remained connected with the troupe until the early 1980s.
After delivering a commanding supporting performance as the Roman soldier Sejanus in the BBC miniseries I, Claudius, Stewart appeared in genre movies like Excalibur, Dune and Lifeforce throughout the 1980s.
He received his breakthrough as a lead actor when he was cast as the USS Enterprise’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which aired in syndication from 1987 to 1994. He reprised the role in four Star Trek feature films as well as the Paramount+ streaming series Picard.
Stewart said in 2018 that it was an “unexpected but delightful surprise” to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard at a time when he could explore “new dimensions within him” in his later years.
The classically trained actor also acknowledged that he faced difficulty with typecasting after originally playing Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
However, he landed another iconic role as the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier in the 2000 movie X-Men. Stewart played Professor X in nine movies over the course of 26 years — and will be seen as the Marvel Comics character once again in Avengers: Doomsday, which releases in December.
Marvel Studios said in a statement on Thursday that its staff was “heartbroken” to learn of Stewart’s death, adding, “Sir Patrick Stewart leaves behind an indelible cultural footprint and legacy. Marvel Studios extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fans around the world.”
Stewart was married three times — first to Sheila Falconer from 1966 to 1990 and later to producer Wendy Neuss from 2000 to 2003. He wed his third wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, in 2013. (Patrick and Falconer shared son Daniel, 59, and daughter Sophie, 54.)
