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Oscar Nominee & Titanic Star Gloria Stuart Passes Away at 100

by Ethan Anderton
September 27, 2010
Source: Washington Post

After surviving James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic, at 87 years-old actress Gloria Stuart received one of her greatest honors as she became the oldest Oscar nominee ever for her supporting role as the elder Rose Dawson, survivor of the ocean tragedy. Sadly, over a decade later, The Wasthington Post reports Ms. Stuart has passed away at 100 years old. In a century of life, there's little that Stuart hadn't seen or done. Though the pinnacle of her career may not have manifested itself until her later years, her career started way back in the 1930's. Like many talents on-screen, Stuart started in theater but later found success on the big screen.

After her film acting debut in the 1932 film Street of Women, Stuart would go on to become one of the early Scream Queens taking roles in horror classics like Frankenstein and The Invisible Man. Other work included The Prisoner of Shark Island, Time Out for Murder, Poor Little Rich Girl, and Gold Diggers of 1935. During this part of her career, Stuart also became a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933. Though she retired from the big screen in the 1940's, she made a return to acting on TV series like "The Waltons." However, her true comeback wouldn't happen until 1997 after her Oscar nominated turn in Titanic. After her nomination, she found herself back on television in guest roles on "Murder She Wrote" and "Touched by an Angel."

On her late success, Ms. Stuart said, "When I graduated from Santa Monica High in 1927, I was voted the girl most likely to succeed. I didn't realize it would take so long." The actress attributed her success and survival of the Golden Age of Hollywood to the fact that she was one of the few age actresses who was "still viable, not alcoholic, rheumatic or falling down." Millions of people will remember Ms. Stuart for her turn in Titanic, but she had a rich career right in the middle of historical Hollywood that will live forever on celluloid. Rest in peace, Ms. Stuart.

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