Sir Patrick Stewart spent decades captivating audiences as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier. But in his final chapter, the legendary actor was quietly facing two of the most devastating diseases a person can endure.
Stewart died on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at his home in Los Angeles at age 86. His longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, confirmed that he died following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
The actor had kept his illness out of the public eye. In a statement shared on his social media, his family said he died at home in the loving care of his wife, Sunny. They said he had been surrounded by family and friends, with live music, prayer, tears and laughter filling his final days.
They also shared a tender detail from his last moments, saying they would always cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, a reminder of his grace.
Stewart had been married to singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell since 2013, and is also survived by two adult children.
Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia are two distinct but often overlapping conditions. Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia, is linked to a buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain and gradually erodes memory and thinking skills. Lewy body dementia is caused by abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies, and can bring fluctuating alertness, visual hallucinations, sleep problems and movement issues similar to Parkinson’s disease.
The two frequently occur together, and people with Alzheimer’s are often found on autopsy to also have Lewy bodies. Lewy body dementia is also notoriously hard to identify. As of 2014, it was misdiagnosed more often than any other common dementia.
Stewart is far from the only beloved star affected by these diseases. Gene Wilder died in 2016 from complications of Alzheimer’s, which his family had kept private. Glen Campbell’s battle with the disease was documented in “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” before his death in 2017, while former President Ronald Reagan shared his diagnosis in a heartfelt 1994 letter to the public a decade before he died. Tony Bennett continued performing for years after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, before his death in 2023.
Lewy body dementia has also touched Hollywood. Radio legend Casey Kasem was diagnosed with the condition before his death in 2014, and Robin Williams’ widow has said an autopsy revealed he had been living with undiagnosed diffuse Lewy body disease.
Stewart’s family is hoping his story can help that effort. In lieu of flowers, they asked that donations be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Caregiver Resources.
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