Mary Beth Hurt, the renowned actress celebrated for her roles in The Age of Innocence, Six Degrees of Separation, and The World According to Garp, has passed away at the age of 79 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Her daughter, Molly Schrader — who she had with filmmaker Paul Schrader — shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram, stating:
“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 embraced all those roles with grace and a fierce kindness. While we are mourning, there is some solace in knowing she is no longer in pain and is at peace with her sisters.”
Hurt was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, on September 25, 1946. As a child, she was even babysat by actress Jean Seberg. She later pursued acting studies at the University of Iowa and New York University, which set the stage for a career that would last for many years.
“I believe I was born to be an actress. I was always putting on shows and having my sisters and friends take part in them. My mother would take us to see plays in Des Moines, and I loved that, but it didn’t occur to me that it was something I could pursue. It wasn’t until I attended a play at my high school – I must have been in the eighth grade – that I realized it was a possibility,” Hurt once reflected.
Her first appearance on stage was in 1974 with the off-Broadway show More Than You Deserve. Throughout the following decade, she received three Tony Award nominations for her performances in Trelawny of the Wells, Crimes of the Heart, and Benefactors.
Mary Beth Hurt made a memorable film debut in Woody Allen’s Interiors (1978), portraying Joey, the middle sister among three, who is dealing with the emotional consequences of a broken family and their mother Eve’s (Geraldine Page) battle with mental illness. Her subtle and impactful performance quickly garnered attention, leading to a BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles.
Following that, she gave unforgettable 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 works such as Autumn in New York (2000), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), and Young Adult (2011).
She was also a well-known presence on television, featuring in Law & Order, Thirtysomething, Saturday Night Live, and Law & Order: SVU.
Hurt was married to the late actor William Hurt from 1971 until 1982, and then she wed Paul Schrader in 1983. Together, she and Schrader had two children, Molly and Sam.
Her spouse, Paul Schrader, is the renowned filmmaker known for writing Taxi Driver and directing American Gigolo, which featured Richard Gere in the main role.
In a 2010 interview reflecting on her career, Hurt expressed that she found supporting roles to be much more fulfilling than leading ones:
“I’ve never felt entirely at ease playing the lead. I dislike the pressure; it comes with the expectation that I must excel. Moreover, I discovered that secondary roles were far more captivating, particularly when I was younger and the ingénue parts felt rather dull. I never perceived myself as particularly beautiful, or exceptionally intelligent or witty, so I was always in search of something about [roles] that fascinated me… They believe they are a person, complete with their own quirks. Those quirks intrigued me.”
Mary Beth Hurt spent her last days in an assisted living facility in Jersey City, New Jersey, where she had recently relocated after living in Manhattan.
Her passing signifies the loss of an extraordinary talent who infused depth, intelligence, and a subtle fierceness into every character she portrayed. Both fans and colleagues remember her as an actress capable of commanding the screen and stage while remaining deeply human in every performance.
