Patrick Stewart dead at 86: Star Trek and X-Men actor passes away after 'poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and dementia'

Star Trek icon Sir Patrick Stewart has died aged 86. Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following 'a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,' and with his 'beloved' wife Sunny Ozell by his side, a statement on his Instagram page announced.The English star gained international stardom for his leading role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987 to 1994, a role he reprised in a series of films and Star Trek: Picard from 2020 to 2023.He also garnered acclaim for playing Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series from 2000 to 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 announcing his death 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 icon Sir Patrick Stewart has died aged 86 - he was best known for his leading role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following 'a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,' spokesman Kelly Bush Novak announced - pictured June 2024 The star was wed three times - marrying his final wife Sunny Ozell in 2013 - pictured 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.'While best known for his roles in blockbuster movies and TV shows, the classically trained stage actor also scaled the Shakespearean canon.In 1966 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and later made his Broadway theatre debut in 1971 in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.He would go on to win a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Antony and Cleopatra in the West End. Besides playing everyone from Claudius to Macbeth, he often performed a one-man rendition of A Christmas Carol and did West End and Broadway runs of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot in repertoire with buddy Ian McKellen. Stewart was knighted in 2010 by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. The actor was married three times and is survived by two children. He first wed Sheila Falconer in 1966 and they divorced in 1990 – welcoming son Daniel and daughter Sophia together.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.His third and final marriage was to singer and songwriter Sunny Ozell, 47, who he wed in 2013.In a 2015 interview with The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine, Ozell said the hardest part of their relationship was meeting Stewart’s children from his first marriage. He also garnered acclaim for playing 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 first wed Sheila Falconer in 1966 and they divorced in 1990 - welcoming son Daniel and daughter Sophia together - pictured 1992 His second wife was Wendy Neuss - pictured 2002She said: ‘That was territory I trod on very lightly. I didn’t want to force myself on them but they were very welcoming.’And she said the age gap was irrelevant. ‘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.’And Stewart said: ‘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.’The couple met through a mutual friend in 2008 when American singer-songwriter Ozell was working as a waitress in New York. They married in September 2013 on the banks of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in a wedding officiated by Stewart’s best friend and fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen.McKellen registered as a minister with the Universal Life Church, which celebrates freedom of religion, in order to officiate at Stewart and Ozell’s wedding on the shores of Lake Tahoe two years ago.‘It was an immediate attraction,’ said Stewart of his first time meeting Ozell.‘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,’ says Stewart, who 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 illustrious career began at the age of 12. He performed in playhouses across England before making his London theatrical debut in 1966 and touring with the Old Vic company, one of the most selective drama schools in the world. He then joined the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 where he made his first Broadway appearance as Snout in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1971 and began his 27-year association with the establishment.Stewart’s love for Shakespeare was born after he was given the Merchant of Venice by his English teacher Cecil Dormand. He 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 was extremely grateful to Dormand for ‘saving’ him from his ‘dull, uncomfortable and sometimes scary home life, living with an abusive father,’ by putting Shakespeare in to his hands and giving him hope for a better future. Dormand encouraged Stewart to pursue acting and even paid for him to have his first formal acting lessons. Stewart remained thankful to Dormand throughout his life, often wondering what his life would have been like if he had not crossed paths with the English teacher.Stewart continued as a stage actor for the first 25 years of his career, despite landing a few small roles in British and American films from 1973. 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.’ International recognition came in 1987 when he secured the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the science-fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). He was so convinced that he was going to be fired that he did not unpack his bags for six weeks, saying he didn’t think he would ‘survive beyond the pilot’. He said: ‘I thought the producers would come to their senses and realize they’d made a grave error in casting me. Eventually it become 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.’ The role brought Stewart an exceptional level of fame with his refined voice and natural gravitas making him a household name and winning him a place at the heart of The Next Generation series. He went on to reprise his role as Capt Jean-Luc Picard and starred in a string of successful Star Trek films: 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 personnel Alfred Stewart. Stewart struggled at school and said he spent much of his childhood being ‘afraid’, with a father who was often violent and abusive. Stewart appeared in other films and stage productions including Masterminds, an episode of The Simpsons, and A Christmas Carol, as well as being considered for a role in Doctor Who: The Movie, and the part of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), which went to Johnny Depp. Stewart also used his perfect British diction to comedic effect in cartoon TV shows and lent his voice to several animated movies – Gnomeo and Juliet (2011), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (2013) and The Emoji Movie (2017).Despite Stewart’s many on screen successes, he never stopped performing Shakespeare on stage. His masterful performance of the title role in Shakespeare’s Macbeth got him a Tony Award nomination. In 2008, he took on the role of Claudius in Hamlet and received his third Laurence Olivier Award for his performance and in 2010 he was awarded a knighthood. On receiving his knighthood, Stewart called it an ‘honor that embraces those actors, directors and creative teams who have in these recent years helped fill my life with inspiration, companionship and sheer fun’.