Eva Marie Saint Turns 102 - the Last Star of Hollywood's Golden Age

Eva Marie Saint in a 1951 promotional portrait. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Caption: Eva Marie Saint in a promotional portrait, circa 1951. Credit: 20th Century Fox, photographer not credited, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Eva Marie Saint turned 102 on July 4, 2026 - the same day the United States marked the 250th anniversary of its independence. Saint, born in Newark, New Jersey on July 4, 1924, shares a birthday with the country and has now outlasted virtually every major figure from the film era that made her famous. She is the oldest living Academy Award winner and one of the last surviving stars of the Hollywood Golden Age.

Saint made a rare public appearance with her daughter Laurette Hayden for an evening at Le Dome restaurant in West Hollywood around the time of her birthday. She has mostly stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, though she has occasionally shared her thoughts with outlets including People and Fox News.

An Oscar Won at Thirty, in a Scene With Marlon Brando

Saint won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1955 for her role in On the Waterfront, Elia Kazan’s 1954 film in which she appeared alongside Marlon Brando. She was 30 years old. Director Kazan reportedly described her as simply perfect in the role. Her husband Jeffrey Hayden had to help her get up from her seat when her name was called - she was two days from giving birth to their son at the time.

She followed that performance with one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most stylized leading roles, playing the cool, enigmatic Eve Kendall in North by Northwest in 1959 opposite Cary Grant. The two films - one a gritty labor drama, the other a sleek mid-century thriller - defined a range that most actors never fully demonstrate. She continued working steadily through decades of television and film, earning Emmy and Golden Globe awards along the way.

The Choice She Made About Fame

Saint has spoken candidly in interviews about the point at which she chose her family over maximum career exposure. Her agent wanted her to take more work. She said she didn’t want to be a super-superstar, and declined. Her family came first. That choice meant she never became the kind of tabloid presence her name might have otherwise generated - she built a private life with her husband and two children while maintaining a selective professional presence.

Her husband Jeffrey Hayden, a director and producer, died in 2016 at 90 after 65 years of marriage. Saint was quoted as saying that if you meet the right person and fall in love, that is a miracle.

The Simple Secret

The question reporters and fans return to most often with Saint is how. On her 100th birthday in 2024, she told People she did not feel 100 years old. Her answer to the secret of her longevity was consistent across every interview she had given on the subject: walking.

She takes daily walks outside. She watches Los Angeles Dodgers baseball. She spends time with family and friends. She told Fox News years earlier that at 90, she was proud just to be walking and breathing and loving and working. At 102, she has quietly surpassed every contemporary from the era she helped define.

One of the Last

Saint has said she stopped taking roles after a certain age not because she couldn’t work, but because the industry had stopped writing characters for women like her with any real complexity. She cited actress Angela Lansbury as a kindred voice on this - both had declined parts that reduced older women to caricature, choosing instead to remain absent from work that didn’t honor the depth of their experience.

She has not appeared on screen in a significant way since her last credited voice role in 2014. She appeared at the 2018 Academy Awards at age 93 to present the Oscar for Best Costume Design. On July 4, 2026, while the country she shares a birthday with celebrated 250 years, she turned 102.

References: Eva Marie Saint Is 102 - See the Oscar-Winning Actress’s Best Throwback Photos | Oscar-Winning Actress’s Shockingly Simple Trick for Living to 102