- Born
- Nickname
- The Helen Hayes of Television
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Actress and producer Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4, 1924 on Newark, New Jersey. She is known for starring in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959). Her film career also includes roles in Raintree County (1957), Exodus (1960), The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), Grand Prix (1966), Nothing in Common (1986), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), Superman Returns (2006) and Winter's Tale (2014).
Saint made her feature film debut in On the Waterfront (1954), starring Marlon Brando and directed by Elia Kazan - a performance for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film was a major success and launched her movie career. She starred in the pioneering drug-addiction drama A Hatful of Rain (1957) with Don Murray and Anthony Franciosa. She also starred in lavish the Civil War epic Raintree County (1957) with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.
Director Alfred Hitchcock surprised many by choosing Saint over dozens of other candidates for the femme fatale role in what was to become a suspense classic North by Northwest (1959) with Cary Grant and James Mason. Written by Ernest Lehman, the film updated and expanded upon the director's early "wrong man" spy adventures of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, including The 39 Steps (1935), Young and Innocent (1937), and Saboteur (1942). North by Northwest (1959) became a box-office success and an influence on spy films for decades.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Pedro Borges - Played one of most famous female leads in movie history, opposite Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954). She certainly brought "real acting" in a time when melodrama still ran rampant in the industry. Who can forget her memorable argument scene with Brando when she says, "I didn't say I don't love you, I said I want you to get out." Eva Marie Saint is still going strong with her work. She takes the fact that she's part of film history in her stride.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Brian Michael Tracy <bmtbond007@hotmail.com>
- SpouseJeffrey Hayden(October 28, 1951 - December 24, 2016) (his death, 2 children)
- ChildrenDarrell Hayden
- ParentsJohn Merle SaintEva Marie Rice
- RelativesJohn Quincy Saint(Grandparent)Lydia Gordon(Grandparent)Adelaide Louise Saint(Sibling)
- Son Darrell was born two days after she won the Oscar for On the Waterfront (1954).
- According to the 1942 Bethlehem Central High School yearbook, her nickname was "Bubbles" and her ambition was to be a teacher; she was also a cheerleader as well as senior class secretary.
- Although the role of Edie Doyle properly is a lead, producer Sam Spiegel listed her as a Supporting Actress in the hopes of getting her a nomination. The ploy worked and she won the Oscar.
- Elia Kazan described her as "perfect . . . she was just perfect. Everybody loved her--especially me!".
- In 1987 the Eva Marie Saint Theater was dedicated on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. She graduated from the university in 1946.
- [on Alfred Hitchcock] Hitchcock said, "I don't want you going back to sink-to-sink movies. You do movies where you wash the dishes looking drab in an apron. The audience wants to see their leading ladies dressed up". He saw me as others didn't.
- [on the current crop of movie stars] America is now obsessed by stars in an unhealthy way. They don't actually deserve this kind of attention. They're only actors--not scientists who are triumphing over cancer or doing some other wonderful thing.
- There were six of us [Alfred Hitchcock] blondes, and it's like we were all married to the man at one time or another. And we all have a different take on him. Each actress was at a different stage of her life; we were different ages, some married, some not. My experience with Hitch was one of utter respect, warmth, friendliness and humor, and North by Northwest (1959) was a glorious time in my life.
- [on James Mason] I think he's a fine actor, a hell of an actor. A nice person to be with, hard-working and very professional.
- [on Warren Beatty] Remote. There was an intelligence about him that I admired. That [All Fall Down (1962)] was one of his first films, so he wasn't that relaxed. It was hard to get to know him.
- 36 Hours (1965) - $50,000
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