Mary Beth Hurt, the acclaimed stage and screen actress known for The Age of Innocence, Six Degrees of Separation, and The World According to Garp, has died at the age of 79 following a decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Her daughter, Molly Schrader — whom she shared with filmmaker Paul Schrader — announced the news on Instagram, writing:
“Yesterday morning we lost my mom, Mary Beth, to Alzheimer’s after a decade-long battle with the disease. 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.”
Hurt was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, on September 25, 1946. As a young girl, actress Jean Seberg was even her babysitter. She went on to study acting at the University of Iowa and New York University, laying the foundation for a career that would span decades.
”I think I was born an actress. I was always making shows and having my sisters and my friends play parts in them. My mother took us to see plays in Des Moines and I enjoyed that, but it didn’t dawn on me that it was something that I could do. It wasn’t until I saw a play at our high school – I must have been in the eighth grade – that I realized then that it was something you could do,” Hurt once shared.
Her stage debut came in 1974 with the off-Broadway production of More Than You Deserve. Over the next decade, she earned three Tony Award nominations for Trelawny of the Wells, Crimes of the Heart, and Benefactors.
Mary Beth Hurt made a striking film debut in Woody Allen’s Interiors (1978), playing Joey, the middle of three sisters grappling with the emotional fallout of a fractured family and their mother Eve’s (Geraldine Page) struggle with mental illness. Her nuanced and powerful performance immediately drew attention, earning her a BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles.
After that, she delivered memorable performances in Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), The World According to Garp (1982), The Age of Innocence (1993), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), and later films including Autumn in New York (2000), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), and Young Adult (2011).
She was also a familiar face on television, appearing on Law & Order, Thirtysomething, Saturday Night Live, and Law & Order: SVU.
Hurt was married to late actor William Hurt from 1971 to 1982, before marrying Paul Schrader in 1983. She and Schrader shared two children, Molly and Sam.
Her husband, Paul Schrader, is the acclaimed filmmaker who wrote Taxi Driver and directed American Gigolo, starring Richard Gere in the lead role.
Reflecting on her career in a 2010 interview, Hurt said she found supporting roles far more rewarding than lead parts:
“I’ve never been extremely comfortable playing the lead. I don’t like the responsibility; there’s a feeling that I have to be good. Besides, I found secondary parts much more interesting, especially when I was younger and the ingénue roles were pretty bland. I never felt very beautiful, or incredibly smart or witty, so I was always looking for something about [roles] that intrigued me… They think they’re a person, and they have idiosyncrasies. Those idiosyncrasies interested me.”
Mary Beth Hurt spent her final days in a Jersey City, New Jersey assisted living facility, where she had recently moved after previously residing in Manhattan.
Her death marks the loss of a remarkable talent who brought depth, intelligence, and a quiet ferocity to every role she played. Fans and colleagues alike remember her as an actress who could command the screen and stage, yet remain profoundly human in every portrayal.
She leaves behind her family, countless performances, and a legacy of grace, intensity, and compassion. RIP!
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