Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek’s Picard, dies at 86

Sir Patrick Stewart, the British actor who played Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, died Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86.

His family said he died “following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia,” according to a statement shared on his social media accounts. The Associated Press reported that spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak confirmed the cause.

“We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles,” the statement said, adding that he was in the care of his wife, Sunny Ozell. The family said he had been “held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter,” as reported by Global News.

“He will be remembered for the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role, in his art and life,” the statement concluded. It described him as “a son of Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire” whose career ran from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Broadway, film and television over six decades.

Stewart is survived by Ozell, a Brooklyn songwriter and singer he married in 2013 in a ceremony officiated by his “X-Men” co-star Ian McKellen, and by two children, Sophia and Daniel, the AP reported.

The AP said Stewart spent 14 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company before reaching a mass audience in 1987 as Picard, the starship captain whose catchphrase was “Make it so.” The series ran seven years and 178 episodes and led to four feature films, from “Star Trek: Generations” to “Star Trek: Nemesis.” He returned to the role in “Star Trek: Picard,” which ran from 2020 to 2023, Kotaku reported.

He played Xavier in three “X-Men” films from 2000 to 2006, then in four more movies, including “Logan” in 2017, and returned in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” in 2022, the AP said. Kotaku reported that his final performance as the character is due in “Avengers: Doomsday,” scheduled for release on Dec. 18.

On stage, Stewart earned his only Tony Award nomination for a 2008 Broadway production of “Macbeth,” and later toured a one-man “A Christmas Carol.” He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2010. He also served as an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee and a patron of the domestic abuse charity Refuge, the AP said.

The family asked that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund or the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s caregiver resources, according to a post on Stewart’s official X account.

For Canadian readers, the cause of death puts a spotlight on dementia. Global News reported, citing the Alzheimer Society of Canada, that more than 1.7 million Canadians are expected to have dementia by 2050. Canada’s drug agency recommended earlier this year that the Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab be added to public drug plans, as we reported in July.

The death follows that of another “Star Trek” original-cast member, Walter Koenig, who played Chekov, at 90, which we reported on Oct. 27.

Via the Associated Press, Global News and Kotaku.

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