The acclaimed stage and screen actress passed away after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, her family announced.
NEW YORK — Mary Beth Hurt, the Tony-nominated actress whose elegant presence graced Broadway, film, and television for nearly five decades, has died. She was 79.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hurt passed away on Saturday following a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, a diagnosis she received in 2015. Until recently, she had been living in a Manhattan care facility, with her husband residing in another apartment within the same building.
Family Pays Tribute
Hurt’s daughter, Molly Schrader, announced the news on Instagram, honoring her mother’s legacy both on and off the stage.
“Yesterday morning we lost my mom, Mary Beth, to Alzheimer’s after a decade long battle with the disease,” Schrader wrote. “She was an actress, a wife, a sister, a mother, an aunt, a friend, and she took on all those roles with grace and a kind ferocity. Although we’re grieving there is some comfort in knowing she is no longer suffering and is reunited with her sisters in peace.”
Breakthrough Roles and Film Career
Hurt first gained widespread recognition with her role in Woody Allen’s Interiors (1978), a performance that established her as a leading figure in American art-house cinema. She went on to star in Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979) and delivered a memorable performance alongside Robin Williams in The World According to Garp (1982).
Her extensive film credits also included James Ivory’s Slaves of New York (1989), the black comedy Parents (1989), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence (1993), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), The Family Man (2000), M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water (2006), Untraceable (2008), and her final film, Change in the Air (2018).
Broadway Legacy and Tony Nominations
A stalwart of the American theater, Hurt appeared in 15 Broadway productions between 1974 and 2011. She received three Tony nominations throughout her career, most notably for her portrayal of Meg Magrath in Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Crimes of the Heart in 1982. (Jessica Lange later played the same role in the 1986 film adaptation.)
Her Broadway credits included The Rules of the Game (1974), The Member of the Wedding (1975), The Cherry Orchard (1977), The Misanthrope (1983), Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance (1996), Top Girls (2008), and The House of Blue Leaves (2011).
Enduring Impact
Throughout her career, Hurt was celebrated for her sophisticated versatility, emotional depth, and ability to bring nuance to both dramatic and comedic roles. Her work spanned generations of filmmakers and theater directors, cementing her legacy as one of the most respected actors of her era.
Hurt is survived by her husband and children. Memorial arrangements have not been publicly announced.
