Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men’ Star, Dies at 86

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Key Points

  • Sir Patrick Stewart died Wednesday, Oct. 28, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86.
  • A statement released by his longtime spokesperson said he died after “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
  • He played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard, and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films.
  • A Royal Shakespeare Company veteran, he was knighted in 2010 and received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1996.
  • Ian McKellen, William Shatner, George Takei, LeVar Burton and Hugh Jackman were among those paying tribute.

Patrick Stewart dies at 86, ending a career that ran from the Royal Shakespeare Company to the bridge of the USS Enterprise. The actor died Wednesday, Oct. 28, at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement released Thursday by his representative.

The statement said he died “following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.” Fans began laying flowers at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the BBC reported.

What happened

The announcement came Thursday in a statement that was also posted on Stewart’s Instagram account, the BBC reported. The Guardian said the words came from Kelly Bush Novak, his longtime spokesperson, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny,” the statement read, as published in full by Deadline.

“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,” it continued. “We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”

A career on stage and screen

Born July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, in England’s West Riding of Yorkshire, Stewart left school at 15 and made his professional stage debut in 1959 at the Theatre Royal in Bristol, according to Deadline. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and went on to appear in more than 60 of its productions.

In 1987 he took the role that made him a household name in the United States: Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He played Picard for seven seasons and in four feature films, then returned for Star Trek: Picard from 2020 to 2023, the BBC noted.

In 2000 he became Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, opposite his close friend Ian McKellen as Magneto, and returned to the role through the franchise, including Logan.

His honors included Olivier Awards for his stage work, a Tony nomination for Macbeth, a 1995 Grammy and four Emmy nominations, according to Deadline. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2010 for services to drama, Deadline and the BBC reported.

Latest development

McKellen, who first met Stewart at the Royal Shakespeare Company, recalled warning him against taking the Star Trek job and urging him to “think of your stage career.” He wrote that Stewart “wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love,” the Guardian reported.

William Shatner said Stewart “stood for the best of us,” and George Takei called him an “irreplaceable legend,” according to the BBC. X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman remembered him as “one of the greats.”

“He was family,” wrote LeVar Burton, who played Geordi La Forge, in a tribute published by the Guardian. Marina Sirtis, who played Deanna Troi, said: “It was the privilege of a lifetime to work with him.”

The official Star Trek account posted: “A voice. A presence. A captain unlike any other.” The Royal Shakespeare Company described him as a “colossus,” and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said he “brought a tenderness to his characters that made us feel we knew them,” the BBC reported. Huddersfield Town, the soccer club that called him a “lifelong supporter,” described him as “a titan of his craft.”

Confirmed vs. still unclear

Confirmed: the date and place of death, his age and the illnesses named in the statement, reported consistently by Deadline, the BBC and the Guardian.

Still unclear: no funeral or memorial service details had been made public as of early Friday ET.

Why it matters

Few classically trained actors reached American audiences the way Stewart did. The Next Generation was a syndicated hit, and the X-Men films introduced him to a younger generation as Professor X.

He also kept working into his 80s. In a July interview marking the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, he told TV Insider, as quoted by the BBC: “I can’t imagine ever officially ‘retiring.’ I’ll always and forever be an actor.”

The cause named in the statement has also drawn attention to dementia. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, and Lewy body dementia damages nerve cells in areas of the brain that control thinking, memory and movement, the BBC explained, citing the Mayo Clinic. Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the UK’s Alzheimer’s Society, called his death “a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating impact dementia has on people and families across the globe.”

Stewart is not the first major figure in American media to face the disease. In May, LiveNewsWorld reported that CNN founder Ted Turner died at 87, years after revealing his own Lewy body dementia diagnosis.

What happens next

Stewart is survived by his wife, the American singer Sunny Ozell, whom he married in 2013; his son, the actor Daniel Stewart; and his daughter, Sophie, Deadline reported.

Deadline reported that Stewart reprised Charles Xavier in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, set for release on Dec. 18, his eighth time in the role.

  • Memorial gifts: in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources, Deadline reported.
  • Walk of Fame: his star on Hollywood Boulevard, in place since Dec. 16, 1996, has become a gathering point for fans.

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