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Stewart died at his Los Angeles home on October 28.
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His spokesperson confirmed Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
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He played Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier.
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His career spanned Shakespeare, science fiction and comedy.
October 29, (THEWILL) – Sir Patrick Stewart, the British actor who became known worldwide as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, has died aged 86.
Stewart died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, October 28, his spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak confirmed. A statement published on his social media accounts on Thursday said he had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia and was in the care of his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell.
The statement described family and friends gathering around him with music, prayer and laughter. “We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face,” it said.
Across television and film, Stewart became closely associated with two commanding figures. Picard led a starship through encounters that tested its crew’s judgement, while Xavier guided the mutants of the X-Men films. Both roles followed years of classical theatre work.
From Shakespeare to the Enterprise
Stewart joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. His roles there included Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and the title characters in King John and Titus Andronicus. He later returned to play Antony, Prospero and Claudius.
His international television breakthrough came with Star Trek: The Next Generation, which began in 1987 and ran for seven seasons until 1994. As Picard, he commanded the USS Enterprise in a series that established a new crew and generation of stories beyond the original programme.
Four feature films followed. Decades later, Stewart returned to the character in Star Trek: Picard, a three-season series examining the former captain’s later life.
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Professor Xavier and a Career Beyond Science Fiction
Stewart first played Xavier in X-Men in 2000, beginning a long association with the superhero franchise. His subsequent appearances included Logan in 2017 and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022.
He continued working in theatre alongside his screen career, performing a solo adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and appearing with Ian McKellen in Waiting for Godot and No Man’s Land. He was knighted in 2010.
Comedy provided another outlet through productions including American Dad!, Extras and Blunt Talk. His memoir, Making It So, published in October 2023, traced his life from Yorkshire to the stage and Hollywood. His honours included three Olivier Awards and Emmy and Tony nominations.
Stewart is survived by Ozell, whom he married in 2013, and his children, Sophia and Daniel. His family requested memorial contributions to Alzheimer’s research and caregiver support organisations in place of flowers.
Segun Adeyemi serves as the Associate Editor of THEWILL Newspaper, leveraging more than ten years of editorial expertise and a proven track record in mainstream journalism.
