The star of 'With Death on His Heels' and 'The Law of Silence' dies at 102

Eva Marie Saint, the blonde who challenged the archetype of the protagonist of Alfred Hitchcock's films and became one of the great actresses of Hollywood's golden age, died this Tuesday at the age of 102. Saint died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Born on July 4, 1924 in New Jersey, Saint was raised in New York and trained as an actress at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. His professional beginnings began on television with series such as 'Campus Hoopla' (1946), 'The Philco Television Playhouse' (1953) and 'Martin Kane, Private Eye' (1952).

Her debut on the big screen came in 1954 in 'On the Waterfront', a film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando that earned her the Oscar for best supporting actress, and until today she was the oldest winner of this award still alive. Saint received his statuette from Frank Sinatra two days before giving birth to the first of his two children.

"I might have the baby right here!" she said during her acceptance speech. Saint later broke the mold of innocent blondes in Hitchcock's filmography when she played Eve Kendall, a seductive secret agent, in the film 'North By Northwest.'

Her work in this film established her as one of the most memorable "Hitchcockian blondes" in the history of cinema. The actress also worked alongside leading men of the time and Hollywood legends such as Paul Newman in 'Exodus' (1960) or Gregory Peck in 'The Stalking Moon' (1969).

He explored comedy, with 'The Russians Are Coming,' and historical dramas, in 'Raintree County.' Saint married television producer and director Jeffrey Hayden in 1951, with whom she had two children and was married to him until his death in 2016.

The performer stepped away from the spotlight to raise her family, but maintained an intermittent career in film and television. She stated that she was not interested in living the life of a superstar, so she rejected projects that could keep her career on top.

Her participation on television remained stronger with performances in series such as 'Moonlighting' (1985), where she had a recurring role as Cybill Shepherd's mother, and also won a television Emmy Award for 'People Like Us' (1990).

Her latest film appearances include 'Superman Returns', from 2006, where she played Clark Kent's adoptive mother, and 'Mariette in Ecstasy', from 2019. She also lent her voice to the animated series 'The Legend of Korra' (2012) and participated in the podcasts 'Radio Play Revival' (2022) and 'The Pack Podcast' (2020).