Patrick Stewart, 'Star Trek' and 'X-Men' Star, Dies at 86

Patrick Stewart, who rose from poverty in England to become an accomplished Shakespearean stage actor and then achieved global stardom as the erudite Captain Jean-Luc Picard in television's "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the telepathic Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" movies, has died at the age of 86. Stewart, knighted in 2010 by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to drama, died at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement on his X account. "We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia," the statement said.

Stewart became an actor at 18 and gained acclaim on the stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company beginning in the 1960s, but mainstream fame came only after he was hired at 47 for "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which ran from 1987 to 1994. He played Picard in 176 episodes over seven seasons, in several "Star Trek" films, and in the streaming series "Star Trek: Picard," which began in 2020 when he was 79. His character's catch phrases — "Make it so" and "Engage" — became part of the culture. Starting with "X-Men" in 2000, he became a central figure in a second major franchise as Professor X.

Stewart was born on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, Yorkshire, and was raised in poverty. He recalled that acting became a "safe space" after a schoolteacher introduced him to Shakespeare when he was 12. He was married three times and had two children; his third marriage, in 2013, was to American musician Sunny Ozell. Photo: Patrick Stewart at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.