Patrick Stewart Dies: ‘Star Trek’ & ‘X-Men’ Actor Was 86

Prolific actor Sir Patrick Stewart has died. The performer, known for his work in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, was 86 years old.

News of Stewart’s death was announced on his official Instagram page, where it was revealed that the actor had Alzheimer’s disease. The post was captioned, “In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources.”

Stewart’s longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak announced Stewart died Wednesday, October 28, at his home in Los Angeles after “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, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all,” Bush Novak wrote. “We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”

Born in Yorkshire, England, in 1940, Stewart began his acting journey by attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in his twenties alongside fellow future stars Sir Ben Kingsley and Dame Helen Mirren.

He made his screen debut in Story Parade on the BBC in the 1960s, and became well-known for his work on stage before breaking further into television and film. Among his most memorable television roles was that of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which he starred for seven seasons across nearly 200 episodes airing between 1987 and 1994.

Along with appearing in several Star Trek films as the character, including Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek: Nemesis, he reprised his role as Picard in Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard, which aired for three seasons between 2020 and 2023.

His other television credits include Frasier, Extras, Family Guy, Macbeth, The Hollow Crown, Eleventh Hour, Hamlet, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and, most recently, Bait.

Along with his turn as Picard, Stewart delighted Marvel fans as Professor Charles Xavier in various X-Men flicks, and he reprised the role for this December’s highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday. Other films in which he played the character were 2000’s X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Among Stewart’s other film credits were flicks like 1984’s Dune, Green Room, Match, Ted and Ted 2, 2019’s Charlie’s Angels, Coda, and The Sheep Detectives.

Stewart was married three times, first to Sheila Falconer in 1966, with whom he shared a son and a daughter. In 2000, he married Star Trek: The Next Generation executive producer Wendy Neuss, but divorced after three years. In 2008, Stewart began seeing performer Sunny Ozell, and they eventually married in 2013, with Stewart’s friend Ian McKellen officiating the ceremony.