Star Trek legend Sir Patrick Stewart has died at the age of 86.
Stewart died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday after “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.” His “beloved” wife, Sunny Ozell, was at his side, according to a statement posted on his Instagram account.
The English actor became an international star through his defining performance as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987 to 1994. He later reprised the role in several films and in the series Star Trek: Picard, which aired from 2020 to 2023.
He also earned widespread acclaim as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise, appearing in the series between 2000 and 2017.
“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,” the emotional statement continued.
“We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
“His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre.
“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 legend Sir Patrick Stewart has died at 86. He was best known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Stewart died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday following “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” spokesman Kelly Bush Novak announced. He is pictured in June 2024
The actor was married three times and wed his final wife, Sunny Ozell, in 2013. He is pictured in 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.”
Although audiences knew him best from major film and television productions, the classically trained actor also established himself as a leading interpreter of Shakespeare.
Stewart joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and made his Broadway debut five years later in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
He later won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Antony and Cleopatra in the West End.
His stage roles ranged from Claudius to Macbeth. He also regularly performed a one-man version of A Christmas Carol and appeared in West End and Broadway productions of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot alongside his friend and fellow actor Ian McKellen.
Stewart was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for services to drama.
The actor was married three times and is survived by two children. He married Sheila Falconer in 1966, and the couple divorced in 1990 after welcoming son Daniel and daughter Sophia.
His second wife was Wendy Neuss, one of the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation. They married in 2000 and divorced three years later.
Stewart’s third and final marriage was to singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, 47, whom he married in 2013.
In a 2015 interview with The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine, Ozell described meeting Stewart’s children from his first marriage as the most difficult part of their relationship.
Stewart also won acclaim for portraying Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series from 2000 to 2017
Stewart is pictured with the cast of Star Trek in 1987
He married Sheila Falconer in 1966, and they divorced in 1990 after having son Daniel and daughter Sophia. They are pictured in 1992
His second wife was Wendy Neuss, pictured in 2002
“That was territory I trod on very lightly. I didn’t want to force myself on them but they were very welcoming,” she said.
Ozell also said their age difference had never been an issue. “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.”
Stewart added: “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.”
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The couple met through a mutual friend in 2008 while Ozell, an American singer-songwriter, was working as a waitress in New York.
They married in September 2013 beside Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in a ceremony officiated by Stewart’s close friend and fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen.
McKellen registered as a minister with the Universal Life Church, which promotes religious freedom, so he could conduct Stewart and Ozell’s wedding on the shores of Lake Tahoe two years ago.
“It was an immediate attraction,” Stewart said of their first meeting.
“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,” Stewart said. He 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.”
Stewart’s distinguished career began when he was 12. He performed in theatres across England before making his London stage debut in 1966 and touring with the Old Vic company, one of the country’s most respected theatrical institutions.
That same year, he joined the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his first Broadway appearance as Snout in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1971 and went on to maintain a 27-year association with the company.
His passion for Shakespeare began after his English teacher, Cecil Dormand, gave him a copy of The Merchant of Venice.
Stewart told The Guardian in 2021: “I barely understood a word but I loved the feel of the words and sounds in my mouth. A 400-year-old writer reached out a hand in invitation to me [and] I felt a sense of an internal, private me being released and connecting with something mysterious, alien and exciting. I was hooked.”
Stewart credited Dormand with “saving” him from a “dull, uncomfortable and sometimes scary home life, living with an abusive father,” by introducing him to Shakespeare and offering him hope for the future.
Dormand urged Stewart to pursue acting and even paid for his first formal acting lessons. Stewart remained grateful throughout his life, often reflecting on how different his path might have been had he never met the teacher.
For the first 25 years of his career, Stewart continued to focus on the stage, although he secured several minor roles in British and American films from 1973 onward.
He once said: “All I know is that I have to act. It’s a compulsion. I’m driven to it. I wouldn’t say that I would die if it were taken away from me but a large part of me would shrivel up.”
His international breakthrough came in 1987, when he was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the science-fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Stewart was so certain he would be dismissed that he left his bags unpacked for six weeks, convinced he would not “survive beyond the pilot.”
“I thought the producers would come to their senses and realize they’d made a grave error in casting me. Eventually it became clear to me that not only wasn’t I going to go away, the series wasn’t going to go away. I stayed and have relished every moment,” he said.
The part made Stewart internationally famous. His commanding voice and natural gravitas helped turn Picard into one of the defining figures of The Next Generation.
He reprised the role in a series of successful Star Trek films, including Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
A proud Yorkshireman and lifelong supporter of Huddersfield Town Football Club, Stewart was born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, on July 13, 1940, to textile worker Gladys Barrowclough and army serviceman Alfred Stewart.
He struggled at school and later said much of his childhood was spent feeling “afraid,” describing his father as frequently violent and abusive.
Stewart appeared in numerous other films and stage productions, including Masterminds, an episode of The Simpsons and A Christmas Carol. He was also considered for a role in Doctor Who: The Movie and for Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), a part that ultimately went to Johnny Depp.
His distinctive British diction also made him a popular voice performer. He lent his voice to animated films including Gnomeo and Juliet (2011), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (2013) and The Emoji Movie (2017).
Despite his many screen successes, Stewart never abandoned Shakespearean theatre. His acclaimed performance in the title role of Macbeth earned him a Tony Award nomination.
In 2008, he played Claudius in Hamlet and received his third Laurence Olivier Award for the performance. Two years later, he was awarded a knighthood.
Accepting the honor, Stewart called it a tribute to “those actors, directors and creative teams who have in these recent years helped fill my life with inspiration, companionship and sheer fun.”
