Old Hollywood star Eva Marie Saint is celebrating her 100th birthday on the Fourth Of July, surrounded by four generations of her family.
Eva won an Oscar for her first movie, Elia Kazan’s seminal 1954 drama On The Waterfront, which starred her alongside Marlon Brando.
Her early triumph kickstarted a glittering silver screen career that saw her play opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest.
She enjoyed a no less illustrious run on TV, winning an Emmy Award for a miniseries based on the Dominick Dunne novel People Like Us.
Now, with her centenary upon her, she crowed: ‘I certainly don’t feel 100 years old,’ and revealed her plans for her milestone birthday party to People.
Old Hollywood star Eva Marie Saint is celebrating her 100th birthday on the Fourth Of July, surrounded by four generations of her family; pictured 2019
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‘I’m looking forward to spending my 100th birthday in Los Angeles with my dear, dear family. Four generations of family members will be gathering together from Los Angeles, Chicago, Santa Barbara and San Francisco,’ she explained.
Eva enjoys an active lifestyle that belies her age, saying: ‘I continue to take walks out in the fresh air, like watching baseball – especially the Los Angeles Dodgers, and enjoy time with my family and friends. A good life.’
Her family members include her son Darrell Hayden, 69, and daughter Laurette Hayden, 65, both of whom she had by her late husband Jeffrey Hayden.
She was two days away from giving birth to Darrell when she won her Oscar, prompting her to quip onstage: ‘I may have the baby right here!’
Eva also reportedly has four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, ensuring her birthday party will be filled with loved ones.
Born in Newark, New Jersey on Independence Day 1924, Eva received a solid Quaker upbringing in upstate New York alongside her sister Adelaide.
After studying acting at Bowling Green University in Ohio, she struck out to New York City to continue her education at the formidable Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio.
Her goal was Broadway, but her career started off bumpily – in 1948 she booked the only female role in what turned out to be the hit play Mister Roberts starring Henry Fonda, only to be demoted to understudy days before opening night.
Eva won an Oscar for her first movie, Elia Kazan’s seminal 1954 drama On The Waterfront, which starred her alongside Marlon Brando
She made her onscreen debut as a Edie, a gentle Catholic trainee teacher whose brother Joey is murdered by a dockworkers’ union backed by the mob; pictured with Marlon in the film
As she falls into an affair with Marlon Brando’s character, the rough-hewn ex-fighter Terry Malloy, the two of them find the courage to fight back against the union
She was two days away from giving birth to her son Darrell when she won her Oscar, prompting her to quip onstage: ‘I may have the baby right here!’
She finally did open in a Broadway show called The Trip To Bountiful in 1953, and although it flopped, it proved to be the launchpad for Hollywood stardom.
Among the people who saw the show during its one-month run were the producers of On The Waterfront, who took a shine to Eva and hired her for their picture.
She made her onscreen debut as a Edie, a gentle Catholic trainee teacher whose brother Joey is murdered by a dockworkers’ union backed by the mob.
As she falls into an affair with Marlon Brando’s character, the rough-hewn ex-fighter Terry Malloy, the two of them find the courage to fight back against the union.
The movie won her an Oscar in 1955 and made her a star, propelling her into projects like the comedy That Certain Feeling opposite Bob Hope, as well as the romantic western Raintree County led by Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.
Shortly thereafter, she landed one of her best-known roles, the inscrutably beautiful undercover spy Eve Kendall in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest.
Liz Taylor and Grace Kelly both turned down the part, and Eva herself was initially doubtful, according to the book Hitchcock’s Blondes by Laurence Leamer.
She was reluctant to leave her newborn daughter for the shoot, and her misgivings were compounded as she perused the script, prompting her to tell her husband Jeffrey: ‘I don’t know, honey, I don’t come in until about page 70.’
Her early triumph kickstarted a glittering silver screen career that saw her play opposite Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest
Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly both turned down the part of the the inscrutably beautiful undercover spy Eve Kendall before Eva took it; she is pictured in a publicity still for the film
North By Northwest proved a box office smash, one of Hitchcock’s highest-grossing pictures and one of the pinnacles of Eva’s career
However Jeffrey, a successful TV director who married Eva years before her rise to fame, persuaded her the project was a good idea.
North By Northwest proved a box office smash, one of Hitchcock’s highest-grossing pictures and one of the pinnacles of Eva’s career.
Her Edith Head costumes, painstakingly assembled with heavy input from the director, have become enduring touchstones of Old Hollywood fashion.
As her career progressed into the 1960s, Eva started working with the rising heavyweights of New Hollywood, including Paul Newman in the biblical epic Exodus and Warren Beatty in the tragedy All Fall Down.
Although she received critical acclaim for her 1970 drama Loving with George Segal, the ensuing decade produced fairly little work for her on the big screen.
Eva threw herself instead into a flourishing television career, earning five Emmy nominations over the years and eventually winning one in 1990 for People Like Us.
Her TV roles included Cybill Shepherd’s mother on the 1980s dramedy Moonlighting, which turned out to be the big break of the young Bruce Willis.
The 1980s also saw her comeback to the big screen, beginning as Tom Hanks’ mother in the 1986 comedy Nothing In Common and lasting until her late 80s.
As her career progressed into the 1960s, Eva started working with the rising heavyweights of New Hollywood, including Warren Beatty in the tragedy All Fall Down (pictured)
Just six years ago, she appeared onstage at the Oscars aged 93 to deliver a tribute to Edith Head while presenting the award for best costume; pictured on that year’s Oscars red carpet
She played Clark Kent’s adoptive mother in the 2006 movie Superman Returns at the age of 81 and a supporting role in the 2014 romantic fantasy Winter’s Tale.
Starring Colin Farrell, Winter’s Tale came out when Eva was 89 years old and marked her last movie before her official retirement from motion pictures.
Her contribution to screen acting was such that she has two stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame – one for movies and one for TV.
Eva, who is currently the oldest surviving Oscar winner, enjoys a position as one of the last living exponents of the legacy of Old Hollywood.
Just six years ago, she appeared onstage at the Oscars at the age of 93 to deliver a tribute to Edith Head while presenting the award for best costume.
She and Jeffrey Hayden were married more than 60 years, beginning in 1951 when she was still a struggling young actress and ending with his death in 2016 of cancer; pictured 2014
On the personal front, Eva has enjoyed a happy and stable family life, maintaining strong bonds with her supportive parents throughout their lives.
She and Jeffrey were married more than 60 years, beginning in 1951 when she was still a struggling young actress and ending with his death in 2016 of cancer.
‘Now Jeff and I did an interview, and this very prim and proper lady said, Miss Saint, how do you stay married?’ Eva once recalled to NPR.
‘This was, I think we were married 40 years then. So I become serious and I say, well, I think you have interests in things that you do together. You certainly have to decide whether you’re going to have family or not. So I go on and on. She turns to Jeff. She said, well, Mr. Hayden, what do you think the secret is? And he said, sex.’
Onstage at her alma mater in 2018, Eva was asked if she would ever act again, and she left the door slightly ajar, saying: ‘You have to play it by ear, by heart, by soul.’