Gloria Stuart – the longtime Hollywood veteran popularly recognized for her role as the elder Rose in James Cameron’s “Titanic” – has died, Access Hollywood has confirmed.
Stuart was 100.
“Gloria Stuart Sheekman expired in her sleep shortly after 8 PM in the evening Sunday September 26th, 2010, in the bed she had built decades earlier out of two life size merry go round horses,” Stuart’s family said in a statement to Access Hollywood on Monday. “She was attended by her daughter Sylvia Vaughn Thompson and her extended family.”
Born on July 4, 1910, in Santa Monica, Calif., Stuart’s career kicked off in the early 1930s as the star of numerous horror films and musicals. Her resume boasts an impressive list of credits, which spanned eight decades in stage, film and TV.
Some of her most notable roles included “The Old Dark House” (1932), “The Invisible Man” (1933) and “The Prisoner of Shark Island” (1936). However, it was her role in Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster “Titanic” — starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet — which earned Stuart her first and only Oscar nomination, for her turn as Rose Calvert, the survivor of the legendary sunken vessel.
Upon hearing the news of Stuart’s death, Winslet said she was “saddened” by the loss of her former co-star.
“I am so saddened to hear of the loss of this remarkable woman. I feel blessed to have met her, known her, and to have acted alongside her. Anyone who spent time in her presence will know what an extraordinary shining light she truly was. She will be deeply missed,” Winslet said in a statement to Access Hollywood on Monday afternoon.
Leonardo DiCaprio, another of Stuart’s “Titanic” co-stars, was also saddened by her death.
“Gloria Stuart was a force both on and off screen. An amazingly sweet person, a fantastic actress, and someone who always fought for what she believed in. She was one of the last great actresses from the Golden era of Hollywood. I was honored to have worked along side her. She will be missed,” Leo said in a statement to Access Hollywood.
At age 87, she became the oldest actress ever to be nominated for an Academy Award. However, the Best Supporting Actress Oscar went to Kim Basinger for “L.A. Confidential” that year.
Access Hollywood was on the scene for Stuart’s 100th birthday party in July of this year, where her “Titanic” co-star Suzy Amis and director James Cameron were on hand to help her celebrate the milestone.
“We’ve stayed close since the making of ‘Titanic,’” Cameron said at the time, noting he first met the actress in 1996 when she was 86. “She loves life and she loves people. She’s got a great wit and she likes the humor inherent in any situation and she just is a great person that we can all learn a lot from in terms of values. I have infinite respect for her.”
Not surprisingly, Stuart left a lasting impact on many of the people she worked with.
“I played her granddaughter. I met her as Rose. I called her ‘nana’ and then she became my Gloria and she became my mentor and my peer and I learned so much from her,” Suzy told Access at the time. “I always tell her, ‘When I grow up Gloria, I want to be like you.’”
After appearing in more than 40 films from 1932 – 1939, and then in only four films during the 1940s, Stuart retired from acting for a while, according to the LA Times.
She made her return to the profession in 1975, with several small TV roles. Her return to the big screen came in 1982 with a role in the comedy “My Favorite Year,” starring Peter O’Toole.
Subsequent projects leading up to her “Titanic” comeback included 1984’s “Mass Appeal” starring Jack Lemmon and the 1986 football comedy “Wildcats” starring Goldie Hawn.
In 2000, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Her final acting credit is listed as Lionsgate’s 2001 thriller “The Million Dollar Hotel” starring Mel Gibson and Milla Jovovich.
Stuart was married twice. Her first marriage was to sculptor Blair Gordon Newell, which lasted for four years before the couple divorced in 1934. Later that year, she married screenwriter Arthur Sheekman in Mexico. The two remain wed until Sheekman died in 1978.
Stuart had one daughter. She is also survived by four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
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