Patrick Stewart, Star of ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men,’ Dies at 86
Patrick Stewart, the pop culture icon best known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, has died at the age of 86. His spokesperson confirmed that he died at his home in Los Angeles following a brief battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
Patrick Stewart’s life
Born in Yorkshire, England, Stewart seemed to know early on that acting was his calling. He spent years on the stage, becoming a longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1987, he took Hollywood by storm when he was cast as Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He portrayed the character for seven seasons and in four films, and later reprised the role in 2020’s Star Trek: Picard.
His career took another iconic turn in 2000, when he was cast as Professor X in X-Men. He played the role across several films in the X-Men franchise, including an acclaimed turn in 2017’s Logan.
Off-screen and off-stage, Stewart’s personal life was a bit more complicated. He was married three times. His first marriage, to choreographer Sheila Falconer, began in 1966. The couple welcomed two children, son Daniel and daughter Sophie, and were married for 24 years before splitting in 1990. In 2000, he married Star Trek producer Wendy Neuss, but the marriage was short-lived. They split in 2003. He met his third wife, Sunny Ozell, in 2008 while he was performing Macbeth in Brooklyn. They married in 2013 and were together at the time of his death.
In recent years, Stewart was candid about the toll his career took on his personal life. In 2023, he opened up about his regrets, admitting that his relationship with his children suffered because he put his career ahead of his family.
Hollywood pays tribute to Patrick Stewart
In the wake of Stewart’s death, tributes have flooded in. His close friend and X-Men co-star Ian McKellen, who officiated Stewart’s 2013 wedding, remembered him as “a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.” Hugh Jackman, who starred alongside him as Wolverine, wrote, “We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today,” calling Stewart “a tremendous friend and man.”
Fellow Star Trek captain William Shatner also weighed in on the loss, writing, “Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him.” Marvel Studios called Stewart “a singular talent, a generous collaborator, and a true gentleman.”
