Patrick Stewart, legendary British actor and star of Star Trek and X-Men, dies aged 86

Shakespearean actor Sir Patrick Stewart, who became a global screen icon portraying Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, has died at the age of 86.

Stewart died on Wednesday 28 October at his home in Los Angeles, as revealed in a statement shared on the actor's official social media accounts.

The statement reads: "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.

"He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all. We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace."

It continued: "A son of Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he travelled from the Royal Shakespeare Company to an equally acclaimed career spanning six decades on Broadway, the silver screen and television."

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It continued: "His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre. He explored the human condition in all its poetic complexity and brought hope not only to the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but into science fiction’s most iconic final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise.

"His professional accomplishments were humbly matched by his philanthropy and activism on behalf of human rights, survivors of domestic violence, global refugees, veterans’ mental health services, and animal welfare, particularly his cherished foster pitties. He was a Knight, Chancellor, motor sport enthusiast, and lifelong Huddersfield Football fan. He will be remembered for the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role - in his art and life.

"Stewart's career spanned nearly six decades, taking him from classical theatre in England to the command of the USS Enterprise and, later, to the wider recognition of superhero cinema."

Born on 13 July 1940 in Mirfield, Yorkshire, he later went on to work at a local newspaper before leaving it to pursue acting, winning a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, before, at 26, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he spent much of the 1960s.

His defining break came later in his career when he was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Series creator Gene Roddenberry had doubted that a bald British Shakespearean actor could front a revival, but Stewart won the role and signed on, expecting the show to fail quickly.

The Next Generation ran for seven seasons from 1987 to 1994 and spawned four films, beginning with Star Trek Generations in 1994.

Following 17 years away from the franchise role, he returned in the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard, which ran for three seasons from 2020 to 2023.

From 2000, Stewart reached a new generation of cinemagoers as Professor Charles Xavier in Fox's X-Men films, acting opposite his close friend Sir Ian McKellen's Magneto. The role will be reprised posthumously in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

Outside of Shakespeare and iconic sci-fi roles, Stewart earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Captain Ahab in the 1998 miniseries Moby Dick and for portraying King Henry II in the TV adaptation of The Lion in Winter in 2003.

He also memorably played a heightened version of himself in scenes in Ricky Gervais's comedy Extras.

In 2023, Stewart published a bestselling memoir, Making It So, whose title nodded to Picard's command.

A quote from the memoir was shared in the statement on social media, reading: "Like me, Jean-Luc has lived an unusual life that has taken him far beyond the bounds of normal human experience. But he is also someone who has remained true to his earthbound roots, for they are what gave him his identity. In the end, he feels the call of home, as do I."

Stewart was married three times and has two children. He is survived by his wife, jazz singer Sunny Ozell, and his two children from his first marriage, Daniel and Sophia.