'Titanic' Actress Gloria Stuart Dies At 100

She was the oldest actress to receive an Oscar nomination for her role in the 1997 film.
By Eric Ditzian

Gloria Stuart in 1935
Photo: Hulton/ Getty Images

Gloria Stuart, whose role as a Titanic survivor in James Cameron's film earned her an Oscar nomination, has died at the age of 100, according to multiple reports.

Stuart was diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago and died Sunday night at her home in West Los Angeles.

Her career in Hollywood began in the 1930s, when she was under contract with Universal and 20th Century Fox and starred in films like "The Invisible Man" with Claude Rains, "Here Comes the Navy" opposite James Cagney and two Shirley Temple films. She appeared in 42 features before 1939, when her studio contract was not renewed. She struggled to find work and retired from film in 1946.

Cameron resurrected Stuart's career in 1997, when he cast her as Rose Calvert, the older version of Kate Winslet's character in "Titanic." As a centenarian survivor of the cruise-ship disaster, Rose had hidden away a priceless blue diamond necklace that treasure hunters had been seeking. Toward the film's climax, she dramatically tossed the necklace into the same waters in which her street artist-turned-lover Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) had perished during the 1912 ship sinking.

The then-87-year-old Stuart nabbed a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod for the role, becoming the oldest actress ever to receive an Academy Award nomination. Though "Titanic" won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Directing, Stuart lost her category to Kim Basinger for her turn in "L.A. Confidential."

Stuart was born on July 4, 1910, in Santa Monica, California. She is survived by her daughter, four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. "When I graduated from Santa Monica High in 1927, I was voted the girl most likely to succeed," she wrote in her 1999 memoir, according to The Washington Post. "I didn't realize it would take so long."

William Clinton William Henry Harrison William Howard Taft William Mckinley Will Smith