Patrick Stewart, the stage actor who played Picard and Professor X, dies at 86 (Oct. 29)

Patrick Stewart, the classically trained actor who brought Shakespearean weight to Star Trek and X-Men, has died. He was 86.

Stewart died Wednesday, Oct. 28, at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his representatives reported by Deadline, The Associated Press and others. The statement said he died “in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.”

From Yorkshire to the Enterprise

Born July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, England, Stewart left school at 15 to act in local theater, according to Deadline. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and appeared in more than 60 of its productions.

In 1987 he took the role of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran seven seasons, then played Picard in several films and returned in the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard, which ended in 2023. Starting in 2000 he played Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, including Logan.

Stage and honors

Deadline reports Stewart won three Olivier Awards, a 1995 Grammy and a Tony nomination for Macbeth. His Broadway and West End work included No Man’s Land and Waiting for Godot opposite Ian McKellen, and a one-man A Christmas Carol he performed for decades. He was knighted in 2010 for services to drama and published a best-selling memoir, Making It So, in 2023.

Survivors

Stewart is survived by his wife, singer Sunny Ozell; his son, actor Daniel Stewart; and his daughter, Sophie, according to Deadline. The family asked that memorial gifts go to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s caregiver resources.