Beloved actor Patrick Stewart has died at the age of 86. His family made the announcement via social media.
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“We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.”
“He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayers, 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, and enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund or the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources.
Stewart was born in Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire on July 13, 1940. He began acting as a child after an English teacher introduced him to Shakespeare.
In 1966, he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he remained until 1982. After being brought to the United States to teacher Shakespeare to students at University of California Santa Barbara, he made his Broadway debut as Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1970.
Stewart spent years working in theater and in small television and film roles. But in 1987, he took on the role that made him a household name, Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
“Like me, Jean-Luc has lived an unusual live that has taken him far beyond the bounds of normal human experience,” Stewart wrote of the character in his memoir Making It So.
“But he is also someone who has remained true to his earthbound roots, for they are what gave him his identity. In the end, he feels the call of home, as do I.”
Stewart also played Picard in four movies: Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek: Nemesis. He returned to the Starship Enterprise in 2020, starring in his own show, Star Trek: Picard, which ran for three seasons.
“For huge numbers of people, I will always be Jean-Luc Picard, and that’s fine. I really believe we created an admirable individual,” he said in a 2003 interview with The Independent.
Many younger audiences know the veteran actor for his role as Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X in the X-Men franchise. He first played the role in 2000’s X-Men, and will reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday, which is scheduled for release in December 2026.
His last film role to be released before his death was the 2026 movie The Sheep Detectives, where he voiced Sir Richfield, a wise old Boreray Blackface ram.
“Acting was the thing that made me happy when I was 13 years old,” he said in his memoir. “And that is still the case 70 years later. I still have so many characters inside me that I need to let out.”