Eva Marie Saint, star of ‘Exodus,’ dies at 102

Eva Marie Saint, the graceful blonde who starred opposite Paul Newman in “Exodus,” the 1960 film epic about Israel’s founding, has died at the age of 102.

Saint died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, a statement from her spokesperson says.

Saint won an Oscar in her film debut for her portrayal of the virtuous Edie Doyle in director Elia Kazan’s gritty 1954 drama “On the Waterfront,” then changed direction as the spy Eve Kendall in director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller “North by Northwest.”

“On the Waterfront” won eight Academy Awards, including best picture, with Kazan named best director, Marlon Brando best actor and Saint best supporting actress.

Saint was pregnant when she accepted her Oscar in March 1955. She gingerly walked to the stage, kissed the golden statuette and excitedly told the audience, “I may have the baby right here!” Two days after the ceremony, she gave birth to her first child, Darrell Hayden.

Otto Preminger hired her for “Exodus,” in which she played Kitty Fremont, an American nurse who falls in love with the film’s protagonist, Newman’s Ari Ben Canaan.

John Frankenheimer directed her in both “All Fall Down” (1962) with Warren Beatty and “Grand Prix” (1966) with James Garner.

Vincente Minnelli directed Saint in “The Sandpiper” (1965) with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, while Norman Jewison cast her in the Cold War satire “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” (1966), an Oscar best picture nominee.

Saint was born on July 4, 1924, in New Jersey. She married veteran TV director Jeffrey Hayden in 1951 – a marriage that lasted until his death in 2016 – and they had two children. She starred in about 20 movies but turned down many roles to devote time to her family.